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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24443314">War &amp; Reese</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuthorA97/pseuds/AuthorA97'>AuthorA97</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tales of Sunshine [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Phineas and Ferb</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Child Neglect, Disney Songs, Friendship, Gen, Hijinks &amp; Shenanigans, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Summer Vacation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:35:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>31,679</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24443314</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuthorA97/pseuds/AuthorA97</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>She's 71 now. How did that happen? She's growing up so fast. The only solution is come to a world of endless summer and hope it's all sunshine and rainbows. (Morgan's never had such luck)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tales of Sunshine [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1765321</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Spencer Saga Series</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Happy Birthday To Me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Morgan liked when she was pulled out of school early. Less so for a dental appointment, even </span>
  <em>
    <span>less</span>
  </em>
  <span> when it was for her braces.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She touched her numb jaw again. She hated dental work. She hated her braces. She hated </span>
  <em>
    <span>all of it</span>
  </em>
  <span>!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well. Except getting the day off from school. That was cool.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wait. No it wasn’t. Her </span>
  <em>
    <span>dad</span>
  </em>
  <span> was staying home to watch her. Her </span>
  <em>
    <span>dad</span>
  </em>
  <span>! Like Morgan was a stupid eleven year old who couldn’t watch herself for a few hours! Honestly, she finished her homework on the drive home, and waiting for her appointment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘But I’m not eleven.’</span>
  </em>
  <span> Morgan thought morosely. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I haven’t been for a long time.’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p><span>How old was</span> <span>she again? If she remembered correctly, she’d just come back from the Year 1847. She’d gone back in time again. She’d wanted to see the volcano Mount Gunter erupting in West Java. She’d accidentally created this vegetarian society in London-</span><em><span>so </span></em><span>sorry she wouldn’t eat meat that’s been cooked on ungreased rusty bars! That had been a month ago...</span></p>
<p>
  <span>Her birthday was </span>
  <em>
    <span>today</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Holy butterball turkey, she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>seventy-one</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Morgan wasn’t sure what to make of that. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Braces on your birthday? How cruel...</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Course, her parents didn’t know that. To them, Morgan had turned eleven months ago. They had </span>
  <em>
    <span>no idea</span>
  </em>
  <span> that Morgan was different.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Morgan was a reality jumper. She enjoyed her job. It was her whole life. For sixty years now, all it took was a quick thought for her to leave her reality for another one. She’d done TV shows mostly, the occasional cartoon or movie.</span>
</p>
<p><span>Apparently, if she focused on a history book she’d travel back in time. Morgan didn’t like it much. She thought it had more of an impact on her life. She’d already created the legend of Morgana Le Fay</span><em><span>-(‘Completely by accident! Honestly one broken name plate and my name changes from Layfette to</span></em> <em><span>Le Fay. So stupid. And I’ll stick by that story to my dying day!’)</span></em><span>. Morgan didn’t want to come back to her time and find her world changed, like everyone wearing black and calling themselves </span><em><span>Joe</span></em><span>.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>Anyway. Now that she knew, Morgan had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> careful about using it. She only visited moments she thought she’d need for history class. Even then, she didn’t like historical Jumping that much. Those people were too stuffy. Too unpredictable.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had to make her birthday </span>
  <em>
    <span>perfect</span>
  </em>
  <span>, now that it’s been ruined by braces. What could she do? She couldn’t go see a movie. Popcorn wouldn’t agree with her new braces. That and her dad wouldn’t let her leave the house without him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, she resigned herself to eating ice cream and watching TV.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seventy-one years, seventy-one years of fighting crime and going on adventures. Now she was sitting on a couch with a numb jaw eating ice cream.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If any of her old friends could see her now...they’d all probably win a bet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With another sigh, Morgan flicked on the television. Maybe she could watch some </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jimmy Neutron</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Or was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Teen Titans</span>
  </em>
  <span> on? It was a Thursday, there can’t have been </span>
  <em>
    <span>much</span>
  </em>
  <span> on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But it opened on </span>
  <em>
    <span>Disney Channel.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Phineas and Ferb-uary?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> Morgan chuckled, though her teeth still hurt. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Well I guess that answers that problem of how to celebrate my birthday.’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Three weeks later, Morgan Spencer seemingly took a nap in the middle of the afternoon. She was practically dead to the world.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oh storyline. It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>hot</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She missed February. She should go back Home. It was cold there. Not enough to snow, not in South Carolina, but Morgan could at least walk outside without feeling herself melt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This place was </span>
  <em>
    <span>hot</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>summer</span>
  </em>
  <span>. How did she forget the most important part of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Phineas and Ferb</span>
  </em>
  <span> was the summertime?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hated hot weather...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hated ‘waking up’ by a school more. Especially since she’d just left her other one back Home.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Morgan found herself hiding up in a giant tree. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked herself over.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her hair was blonde now. It had wild random curls, flying this way or that. Her skin was this kind of peachy, no freckles in sight. She ran her tongue along her teeth, relieved not to feel the braces that plagued her at Home.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her outfit looked good for summer. It was an olive green shirt that had elbow length sleeves but baring her shoulders. She had dark blue jean shorts. She had a pair of blue sneakers on her feet. They felt old, the blue faded but still solid.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a backpack over her arm, so she checked inside. There weren’t any schoolbooks, but a lot of other random stuff. Imagine that junk drawer you have in your house, filled with stuff from yard sales and the garage. She was pretty sure she saw a mini floating baby head, a deactivated self destruct button, and Shimmy Jimmy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hopped down, mindful of the other branches. She looked out onto the playground, seeing a bunch of eleven year olds running around. There were other grades too, but the eleven year olds were the ones congregating together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It must be the last day of school.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She walked over to the large group. If she knew the Flynn-Fletcher family, they would be at the center of this thing. Odd enough, the crowd was parting ways for her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She made it to the middle. A boy with a triangle head, red scrappy hair, dark blue eyes, an orange/white t-shirt, blue cargo shorts and blue high tops, was working on some kind of electrical panel.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A taller boy (whose head looked a lot like the letter </span>
  <em>
    <span>F</span>
  </em>
  <span>) had green hair, darker blue eyes, a collared cream-colored shirt with a button, very high-waisted dark purple pants with a light purple belt, white socks and black tennis shoes. There was a tool belt around his waist. He seemed focused on setting up the multiple small cannons around him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He noticed her quick enough. “Hey Reese.” Phineas waved. He was giving his usual friendly smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Morgan was thrown off a bit. Not by the smile, that was nice. Getting new identities in other realities made her head spin sometimes. Then again, new names would mean more fun. “Hey Phineas. Hey Ferb.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The green haired boy raised his head, waved his hand, then went back to his cannons.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s on the menu for today?” She asked, sitting herself down next to Phineas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The redhead beamed at her with all the joy of an excited puppy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re building fireworks!” Phineas explained. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Just</span>
  </em>
  <span> fireworks?” She lifted an eyebrow. “That’s unlike you.” Morgan, now Reese asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s why we’re building them to spell out </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘It’s Summer Time’</span>
  </em>
  <span> when the last bell lets out.” Phineas explained. “Isabella has the Fireside Girls out in the baseball field setting up the rest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Reese scanned the growing crowd of kids from their grade. They were all watching Phineas and Ferb with anticipation. “School give permission?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have signed forms and everything.” Phineas held a clipboard out to Reese.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She took it, giving it a quick scan. She had gone to Harvard a few decades ago (</span>
  <em>
    <span>graduated second in her class, still has that diploma framed in her bedroom closet</span>
  </em>
  <span>). Reese was still sharp on reading legalese.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded before handing it back. “Seems airtight to me. So long as you set nothing on fire, you should be fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Phineas took her word for it. He put the sheet back in his pockets.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Will this be better, or worse than the monkeys on unicycles?” Reese asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Way better. Right Ferb?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ferb held a thumbs up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We just need-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A hundred foot extension cord?” Reese voiced. She pulled one out of her backpack. It had been hidden beneath some old newspapers and a spare sneaker.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Phineas brightened. “It’s perfect!” He turned to his brother. “Reese has everything in her bag!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Reese had stayed to watch the fireworks. The lights had gone off without a hitch. </span>
  <em>
    <span>(Reese had suspected something would happen at pickup, until she saw Mr Fletcher was picking up Phineas and Ferb)</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All the kids agreed it was the perfect start to summer. They couldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>wait</span>
  </em>
  <span> for whatever Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher did tomorrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Neither could Reese, if she was honest. She was looking forward to the rollercoaster.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stood in line at pickup. The teachers seemed to know which child went to which car. It was helpful, as she had no idea who Reese Martin’s parents were. So she sat on a school bench, pulled out a book she’d been meaning to read, and waited. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And waited. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And </span>
  <em>
    <span>waited.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’d been a half day. Most of the kids were gone by 12:30, whether with their parents or with friends for a sleepover. If a child was still there by one, the teachers called a parent to remind them of the half day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took until 1:30 for the teachers to realize Reese Martin hadn’t been picked up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The child had been so quiet, sitting in the bench patiently. She didn’t even seem to notice that she’d been the last child at school. She’d been absorbed in reading a book. The teachers felt awful about not noticing the child. They quickly called her parents, telling them of the late hour and that </span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span> of them should be picking up their child.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was another thirty minutes before a parent showed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was a tall man, this much was obvious at 6’3. His skin was the same peachy shade as Reese’s, only his thicker arms had golden hair on them. His head of buzzed cut hair was a matching blond to her own. A five o’clock shadow covered most of his square shaped jaw. His eyes were a dark crystal blue.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If you had to guess, based on his clothes alone, you’d say he was some kind of trucker. In reality he worked at PriceRite Warehouse Club, as an automotive glass repairman. His thick hairy arms, mostly from all the hours of heavy lifting, completed to the look. The scowl he had on currently was just a bonus.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pulled up to the school in a used black truck. After slamming his door shut, he stormed over with his heavy boots smacking the pavement. It sounded like the giant was searching for the human in his home.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He marched up to the only teacher that stayed behind. “Martin. Here for the kid.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Martin? As in </span>
  <em>
    <span>Joseph</span>
  </em>
  <span> Martin?” The only teacher left behind asked. The man just grunted an affirmative. “You’re two hours late.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t seem perturbed by this information. “Where’s the kid?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The teacher felt ruffled by his brisk question. She was surprised the man had addressed the child with so little regard. “She’s sitting on the bench.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man gruffed at her. He brushed past her to the kid. Reese didn’t look up from her book.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! Get up.” Mr Martin snapped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It brought the girl out of her book. She startled, pausing a moment so her eyes could come back to focus. They landed on her father. Her expression shifted from confusion to understanding. “Hey...Dad.” She greeted in a voice of hesitation. If anyone that knew Morgan paused to think about it, they’d realize she wasn’t sure if the man was her father.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The large man grunted. “Come on, kid.” He pushes her toward the car door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese followed. She was in no mood to argue with this taller man.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Though her hesitation proved fruitless. Once they got inside the car, the man began ranting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your </span>
  <em>
    <span>mother</span>
  </em>
  <span>-” The man sneered. “-decided you would stay with me this summer. No idea </span>
  <em>
    <span>why</span>
  </em>
  <span>. You were supposed to go to a stupid summer camp. But I’m not gonna be your </span>
  <em>
    <span>minder</span>
  </em>
  <span> for however long this summer is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“One hundred and four days-” Reese heard herself reporting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did I ask?” The man snapped. Reese silenced herself. “Come on. We’re going to get you something to keep you from bothering me this summer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese had a </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad</span>
  </em>
  <span> feeling about this man. She should know, she’d been a cop for decades.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Reese walked inside the OWCA pet shelter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Of all the places she expected to go, this place was </span>
  <em>
    <span>last</span>
  </em>
  <span> on her list. She thought it was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>perfect</span>
  </em>
  <span> place for a birthday present!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mr Martin had decided he wouldn’t be doing a lot of watching for Reese this summer. She needed something else to keep her attention. It was cheaper to adopt a pet than join a summer camp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The OWCA headquarters just happened to be on the way to the Martin house. Mr Martin pulled in, telling Reese she had fifteen minutes to get a pet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When they walked in, the worker greeted them. Reese was startled (she kept it off her face) to see a disguised Carl’s voice coming out from the woman’s mouth. She changed it to delight. Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course</span>
  </em>
  <span> Carl wore a woman’s disguise, that was just too funny.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey there sugar!” The disguised Carl greeted. Reese beamed at the unpaid intern. “What brings you in today?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese opened her mouth to answer. Mr Martin was faster. “She needs a pet.” Reese scrambled to close her mouth. “Go find one, Reese.” Mr Martin ordered. Reese dashed off to the pet cages.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She walked by the dogs and cats. She didn’t want those. Dogs were too slobbery, needing a lot of attention, Morgan Planned to be in the Flynn-Fletcher backyard most of the summer. The cats required too much upkeep, Mr Martin seemed the penny pincher type, he wouldn’t want it. There were bunnies she ignored, birds too. Too noisy or too unfamiliar. The fish were too inactive.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She found a good pet in the near back of the pet cages.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a giant cobra. It was the same green as her shirt, Reese noted. It had the same amber eyes, though the snake had red lines for pupils. Reese could see intricate lines of darker green on her back, a pale green for her underbelly, and the palest green for her nose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She knelt down by the glass enclosure. The snake seemed just as curious about her. If you were unaware of OWCA, you’d say the snake was eyeing prey for an attack. Those who were </span>
  <em>
    <span>intellectuals </span>
  </em>
  <span>could see the snake was meeting Reese’s eyes out of intrigue. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You picked one out yet?” The man asked boarding on impatience.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The blonde girl tilted her head at the snake. The snake copied her. She tilted her head the other way, the snake copied her again. It brought a smile to Reese’s face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes sir.” Reese murmured, airily. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The snake hissed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese moved to open the cage.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The disguised Carl walked over to Reese. He/She gasped as seeing Reese open the cage. “Whoa, honey, don’t do that-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The snake slide out of the cage. She- Reese knew how to identify female snakes, okay? Don’t judge- happily moved up Reese’s arm. The young girl giggled at the feeling of cobra scales along her arm. The snake was a lot longer than the cage implied, climbing all the way up Reese’s arm and around her back to her opposite shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Carl watched in surprise. Agent Long S didn’t like humans that much. This Reese girl...she was interesting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mr Martin was waiting impatiently for it to be done. “She took a pet. Let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s gonna need a name before I let her go. What would you like to name her, honey?” The disguised Carl asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese looked down at the snake. She bit her lip in thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“...Salazara.” She decided. The snake seemed interested in the name choice. “Zara for short.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Great.” The man stated gruffly. He turned to the door. “We good to go?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes sir.” The woman replied. She held up a bag of pet care supplies, pulling them out from seemingly nowhere. She moved to hand them over to Mr Martin. He moved aside. Reese happily held her arms out. Including the arm with Salazara around it. “Here you go, sweet pea.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese juggled the things between her arms. She managed to get them balanced without dropping them, or hurting her new cobra. “Thank you, Ma’am.” She smiled to the cobra. The cobra hissed in reply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mr Martin shuddered. Why’d he get the weird kid?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Late that night, after dinner had been eaten and the pet supplies had been put away, Reese Martin formerly known as Morgen Spencer got to work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’d been given a lot of good information about her new life in a few short hours. The Flynn-Fletcher family knew her, she had this habit of having a Deus-Ex Machina in her Infinity Bag, her mom didn’t want her, and it was shared with Mr Martin (based on the day’s track). So far it looked like her new snake was be her only true friend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Morgan wrote everything she knew about Reese Martin inside a notebook, using code to keep her cobra from translating.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As if knowing her new owner’s thoughts, the snake hissed for attention. Mr Martin ordered the snake would stay in her cage. Reese wasn’t supposed to let her out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That meant Morgan could do whatever she pleased.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t tell him I let you out, okay?” Morgan whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Morgan opened the cage again. Like in the OWCA pet shelter, Zara slithered around her arm then back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The snake hissed. Morgan took that to mean</span>
  <em>
    <span> ‘okay’</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Morgan ran a finger along Salazara’s back. The snake slithered on, seemingly shivering in delight at the touch. “Don’t worry, Zara. He’s just annoyed because Mom tossed me here for the summer instead of camp. He wanted me away, I guess.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The snake didn’t hiss. She just rubbed her head against Morgan’s wrist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I noticed He’s got rat traps downstairs, so I guess we have rats.” The blonde child went on. She quite liked the feeling of Zara’s affection. “Or is it we </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> rats? None of them looked used, so I’m gonna say</span>
  <em>
    <span> ‘have’</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Or is it </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘had’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>because you’re gonna eat them? Man I hate tenses.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While listening to her new owner ramble, Agent Long S decided she’d like the young Miss Martin.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Forgot to add a note- whoops!</p><p>Hey everybody! This is the start of Summer Of Cartoon! I'm gonna be publishing a lot of cartoon stuff over the weeks. Hopefully they work!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Rollercoaster</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning, Reese was prepared for the day. </p>
<p>Or as prepared one could be for a day where you’d build a rollercoaster.</p>
<p>Her ‘dad’ was still asleep. Reese didn’t mind. She made herself breakfast (cereal with scrambled eggs), got herself dressed, and the last thing to do was feed her pet.</p>
<p>Reese walked up to Zara’s snake cage. The cobra was content to lay back on a branch. The snake was happy eating the rats that happened to be in the house. Reese had bought some more appropriate food only to find out Zara was full from her hunting session. Still, she kept the snake food for emergencies.</p>
<p>She laughed, seeing her snake sleep under the heat lamp. “Well, see you later Zara. I’ve got a thing today.” Reese put her Bag on her shoulder. “Don’t wait up! Or eat dad!”</p>
<p>The cobra made no promises.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>==W&amp;R==</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Reese walked towards the Flynn-Fletcher house. She lived two blocks away, so it turned out. It was a long walk in this heat. Reese was happy her clothes were a pair of shorts and a green shirt.</p>
<p>Her hair though was a whole other issue. Her hair was thick, though it had been cut short so she didn’t have to worry about having a sweat-curtain on her neck. </p>
<p>She focused on the positives. She was covered in sunscreen, and she could see the makings of the rollercoaster.</p>
<p>Reese was at the last crosswalk before being on their street. She looked both ways, and stuck out a foot. She immediately pulled it back when a supply truck zoomed past, honking its horn all the while. It hit a pothole as it drove past Reese.</p>
<p>Her heart raced so fast she almost missed the entire crate full of fake snakes that had fallen out in front of her.</p>
<p>Reese quirked an eyebrow once her heart rate settled.</p>
<p>Not long after she arrived in the backyard. She spotted the brothers at the top of their rollercoaster. </p>
<p>She strained her ears to hear Phineas. “So, the way I see it, the fuel rockets kick in at the mall’s parking lot, then we release the snakes during the corkscrew at the interstate. I’m gonna go get the snakes.”</p>
<p>The only sign Ferb had heard was that he flipped on the blowtorch once Phineas was out of range.</p>
<p>Reese grinned. “Hey guys.” She shouted. The brothers looked over at her. “I found a ton of plastic snakes on the way over. You want ‘em?”</p>
<p>Phineas smiled happily. He turned to Ferb. “See? Reese has always got exactly what we need!”</p>
<p>“Don’t you forget it, Flynn!” Reese teased. “Where are we putting the snakes?”</p>
<p>Phineas slid down the rollercoaster. He hopped over to where Reese was dragging the crate. “We’re adding them at the corkscrew.”</p>
<p>Reese looked up to the rollercoaster. “Hey can I look at your permits?”</p>
<p>Phineas beamed. “Sure!” He grabbed them from their planning table. </p>
<p>Reese stretched out her hand like a five year old. “Gimme.”</p>
<p>Phineas pushed the papers into her hand. Reese read them over.</p>
<p>“Crayon?” Reese asked. “Do I need to bring pens next time?”</p>
<p>Phineas blushed. The crayon had been the only thing in their desks that wasn’t a white colored pencil. “Yes.”</p>
<p>Reese grinned. “Cool.” The only pens she had were glittery, and colorful. Better than crayon, at least. “Let’s submit these.”</p>
<p>“Sounds like a plan!” Phineas turned over his shoulder to Ferb. “Hey Ferb!” Ferb turned off the blowtorch. “Reese and I are going to submit the permits!”</p>
<p>Ferb gave them a thumb-up.</p>
<p>Reese smiled at the two brothers. “Come on Flynn, we’re burning daylight!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>==W&amp;R==</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Phineas and Reese stood in front of the factory manager. They patiently waited for his confirmation.</p>
<p>He walked up, holding Phineas’ clipboard. He looked down to Phineas. “Aren’t you a little young to be a roller coaster engineer?”</p>
<p>“Yes, yes I am.” Phineas replied.</p>
<p>The manager blinked before grinning. “Well, I must say, I’m very impressed, the forms all seem to be in order, although I’d never seen them filled out in crayon before.” He indicated the colorfully red crayon signature below.</p>
<p>Reese shrugged. “He couldn’t find a pen.” She excused him.</p>
<p>Phineas blushed.</p>
<p>“So, if there’s anything I can get you, anything at all, just let me know.” The factory manager told us.</p>
<p>Phineas looked across the yard. “Do you think we could borrow one of those gadgets?” He pointed to a robot arm.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>==W&amp;R==</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Not long after, Reese watched as the robot arm to construct their rollercoaster. </p>
<p>She’d made sweet tea for herself while the boys set it up. She was sipping it from a glass with a swirly straw in the seat beside Phineas.</p>
<p>She wondered if she should add sunglasses, to make it look really cool. Or would she look too cool? Maybe it would be good to wear them...people would have no idea about her real facial expressions.</p>
<p>“Now, this is the life.” Phineas remarked. He glanced at Reese, seeing her enjoying tea. “You got anymore?”</p>
<p>Reese pulled out a clear water bottle from her Bag. She’d filled it with tea. She was a proud Southern girl: there should always be more tea on hand.</p>
<p>“You’re awesome, Reese.”</p>
<p>“Don’t you know it.” Reese cheered. She pulled out a second water bottle for Ferb. “Here you go Ferb.”</p>
<p>Ferb gave her a thumbs up. </p>
<p>Reese also pulled out some shaped straws. One shaped like Phineas’ head, the other like Ferb’s.</p>
<p>Phineas eyed it oddly. “Why do you have straws shaped like our heads? That’s weird.”</p>
<p><em> ‘Because your head is a triangle, a common shape?’ </em> Reese thought. “Dude I found them in your kitchen. Why do <em> you </em> have straws shaped like your heads?”</p>
<p>Phineas blinked. “Huh. I have no idea.”</p>
<p>Ferb had no comment.</p>
<p>Well actually the tea was too sweet but he wasn’t going to say <em> that. </em> The rollercoaster was already really high up, and he had no assurance that Reese wouldn’t push him out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>==W&amp;R==</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“...then sign here, initial here, emergency contact info there.” Reese explained, pointing at the various lines on the waiver sheet. The boy grinned at her as he finished signing with a flourish. She smiled as she moved the waiver away. “Thank you so much. Please enjoy. Next! Put the money in the bucket, charge is on that sign. Good, good, then sign here...”</p>
<p>She did this with every kid that came into the backyard. She <em> really </em>enjoyed the process. That, and Reese only had glitter pens on hand so...everything was working out in her favor.</p>
<p>The stage had been built not long after the roller coaster was finished up. Reese had made use of the time by printing out the waivers. She was so excited to have found them for cheap at the copy store! (the Flynn-Fletcher house was low on toner)</p>
<p>On the stage, Ferb walked up to the microphone. Reese grinned- suddenly hoping she’d hear Ferb’s like before remembering that he didn’t speak until the end. At least usually.</p>
<p>He tapped the mic, stepping aside. His brother proudly stepped up. Ferb worked the drumroll.</p>
<p>“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages.” Phineas announced. “May I present to you a spectacle most of the morning in the making. The Coolest...Coaster...Ever!”</p>
<p>Ferb pulled back the curtain. The kids all gawked at the rollercoaster. A bird flew onto the side.</p>
<p>Reese winced.</p>
<p>“So, who wants to go first?” Phineas asked the stunned crowd. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>==W&amp;R==</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“To fasten, insert the tab inside the metal buckle.” Phineas demonstrated. “To release, just pull back on the, oops.” The seatbelt dropped out of his hands, falling towards Earth. “Well, you get the picture. Well, that’s about it, enjoy the ride.”</p>
<p>He settled down in his seat, buckling up just as the rollercoaster reached the top. </p>
<p>“You guys all signed the waivers, right?” Phineas asked, glancing over his shoulder.</p>
<p>“They did!” Reese chirped.</p>
<p>“Awesome!” Phineas replied.</p>
<p>Reese screamed as the coaster began.</p>
<p>She screamed at the whirls around the interstate.</p>
<p>She laughed in delight at the snakes.</p>
<p>She shrieked at the mud, clapping her mouth and eyes shut to keep the mud out. She was much happier after going through the car wash.</p>
<p>“Hey, look, there comes the A-A-A-A!” Phineas warned Ferb.</p>
<p>She ‘a-a-a-a’d at that too.</p>
<p>Because she wasn’t stupid, this was fun.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>==W&amp;R==</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Reese gripped tight to the coaster as it lifted up in the air. For a brief moment, she wondered how nobody else noticed. Except a loop-de-loop started after that so Reese herself forgot until the coaster fell down with a mighty shake. </p>
<p>She was positive the carts nearly jumped off the track. She screamed twice as loud. She only <em> barely </em> kept from swearing out loud.</p>
<p>“Oh, there you are, Perry.” Phineas remarked.</p>
<p>Reese looked beside her. Sure enough, Perry was chittering beside her. A part of Reese wanted to smack the platypus on the head for that helicopter stunt. </p>
<p>“Nice hat, Isabella.” Phineas complimented, before going back to enjoying the coaster.</p>
<p>Isabella hummed in confusion, taking off Perry’s hat.</p>
<p>Reese yelped.</p>
<p>The rollercoaster cars dove off the tracks, flying around on the street. It sent them careening into a construction site, onto a crane, and up into the sky.</p>
<p>Reese held on for dear life.</p>
<p>Also laughed loud enough to be heard over the screams of all the other children.</p>
<p>Let’s just focus on the holding on for dear life thing.</p>
<p>“Funny, I don’t remember this in the blueprints.” Phineas remarked as they spun in the sky.</p>
<p>The rollercoaster got caught on an airplane. You know, like it usually does.</p>
<p>“And I’m sure this is new.” Phineas glanced over his shoulder to Reese. “You didn’t add this in, right?”</p>
<p>“Nope!” Reese laughed, stilling holding on tight.</p>
<p>It should also be noted that Perry was using his tail to hold onto Reese’s waist to keep from flying off. Secret agent he may be, but he wasn’t stupid enough to break his cover over this. </p>
<p>The rollercoaster cars dropped off the airplane. After being seemingly flung all across the country- breaking every law of physics known to man or extraterrestrial- they slowed down. They were flung onto a pine tree miles away. It bent all the way down to the Slushy Burger below.</p>
<p>Reese recognized Jeremy. “Welcome to Mr. Slushy Burger, may I take your order?”</p>
<p>“Anyone want fries?” Phineas asked.</p>
<p>Reese held her hand up. “Me-EEEEEEE!”</p>
<p>The tree had sent them flailing back. Reese gripped onto her safety belt with a renewed fear for her life. Why had she done something so stupid, letting go on the handrail? </p>
<p>As they flung in the sky they landed in Paris, France. </p>
<p>“Croissant?” A server offered.</p>
<p>“Anyone want a ‘<em> quasson </em>’?” Phineas offered just as they were flung back again.</p>
<p>Into <em> space </em>.</p>
<p>Reese’s jaw dropped. The corners of her mouth kept wanting to curve up. She had to fight the glee.</p>
<p>“You know, if that thing crashes into earth, Candace is in charge.” Phineas told Ferb.</p>
<p>Reese snorted. </p>
<p>As the coaster headed back down to Earth, the front catching fire they closed they got, Reese was suddenly <em> very </em>pleased at Phineas and Ferb’s foresight in building this thing like a rocket.</p>
<p>Or maybe they’d built it like a rocket because they were two teenage boys. </p>
<p>Meh.</p>
<p>“We should have charged more.” Phineas mused.</p>
<p>“Definitely.” Reese nodded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>==W&amp;R==</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They crashed onto the tree. Once there, the kids all started falling out. Since they were closest, Phineas and Ferb fell out first. Reese jumped onto a branch, pulling out a fire extinguisher she’d stowed away in the tree earlier that day.</p>
<p>“Oh, hi boys.” Linda greeted from the fence, Candace gawking behind her.</p>
<p>“Hi Mom.” Phineas greeted back. </p>
<p>“Come on Candace, help me with the groceries.” Linda instructed.</p>
<p>“But but but but but but but-“ Candace muttered.</p>
<p>“Let’s go!” Linda dragged Candace away.</p>
<p>The other kids climbed out from the tree. Reese set off the fire extinguisher. </p>
<p>Hey Phineas, that was great.”</p>
<p>“Way too cool.”</p>
<p>“That was awesome, can we do it again?”</p>
<p>“Sorry, only one ride per customer.” Phineas explained.</p>
<p>Reese continued the downpour onto the lit coaster cars. The fire was going strong, but she was keeping it contained enough. She grabbed a fire resistant blanket from her Infinity Bag. She tossed it over the front of it, smothering out the last bit of the fire.</p>
<p>She jumped down from the tree, coming to a rolling stop. Reese let herself flop down on the ground. </p>
<p>“Hey we’re not dead.” Reese cheered. She raised her arms up then they immediately flopped back down. “Whoopie.”</p>
<p>“That was great Phineas.” Isabella praises from Phineas’ side. “So, what are you gonna do tomorrow?”</p>
<p>Phineas shrugged. “Don’t know yet.”</p>
<p>“Maybe you could teach Perry some tricks.” Isabella suggested, running her hand through Perry’s fur.</p>
<p>“Well, he is a platypus, they don’t do much.” Phineas replied.</p>
<p>“They’re the only mammals to lay eggs.” Ferb spoke.</p>
<p>The backyard was quiet. Reese tilted her head back to stare at Perry. </p>
<p>“...Maybe he’ll lay an egg.”</p>
<p>“Nah...only females do that.” Reese replied, sagging back down onto the grass.</p>
<p>“Cool, see you tomorrow.” Isabella waved them goodbye. “It really was the coolest coaster ever. You guys make a great team.”</p>
<p>“Well, a brother is a brother, but I couldn’t have asked for a better one than Ferb. You know what I mean?” Phineas cheered. Ferb repaid that love by burping in his face. “Oh-ho-ho, man! I could smell the peanut butter!”</p>
<p>Reese snorted. She pushed herself onto her feet, swaying just slightly.</p>
<p>“Well that was impressive. See you guys.” Isabella left, closing the fence door behind her.</p>
<p>Reese shook off the grass from her hair. “Well boys. I’m gonna leave. The fire should be out now.”</p>
<p>“Bye Reese!” Phineas waved goodbye.</p>
<p>Reese left- sighing as the tension from the excitement released.</p>
<p>She made it a block up the road before hearing the explosion.</p>
<p>It wasn’t the tree though. It was apparently the Tin-Foil ball running into the remains of the rollercoaster. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>==W&amp;R==</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Reese yawned, stretching out her arms. She was snuggled up in her bed, nearly asleep but forcing herself to stay up. Zara was on the nightstand, curled around Reese’s lamp. </p>
<p>“Then came the ‘A-A-A-A’, which was just a zig-zag but up and down.” Reese yawned. Her eyes drooped for just a second. “Then...then we were in <em> space </em>...space is cool...I love space.” Reese’s eyelids flickered as she went closer to sleep. “...miss space.”</p>
<p>Then she was out.</p>
<p>Zara sighed. Granted it sounded like a hiss, which was only because she was a snake. Her new owner had forgotten to put Zara away.</p>
<p>That being said, maybe the small child wanted Zara to have a little freedom.</p>
<p>The cobra enjoyed having some freedom.</p>
<p>Especially if she got a chance to scare Mr Martin. </p>
<p>Zara liked having her own little side mission.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well I’d say it’s going well so far. I’m really happy with it. Fingers crossed I keep up my streak!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“This is Stanky Dog comin’ to you on the hottest day of the summer! Unless you live at the beach, I say take it easy and do nothin’ today. Yup, just find yourself a shady tree, and maybe an aquatic mammal of some sort, and blow the whole day off.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese rolled her eyes at that. She let her spoon drop back into her bowl of oatmeal, watching it sink down under the oats.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara was in her lap. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think she was smiling in contentment. Reese knew that Zara loved this heat- Reese would rather S’winter come early.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Quit being smug.” She scolded her snake, mildly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She tapped on the cobra’s belly. Zara only did the cobra equivalent of purring. Reese rolled her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Spoiled brat.” Reese mumbled. The show of annoyance was ruined by the smile on the corner of her lips. She dug the spoon out from the oatmeal, finishing off the food in a rush. “Well back to work. There’s only so much time a girl can waste on breakfast.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Reese walked toward the Flynn-Fletcher house. She’d worn her swimsuit under her clothes, deciding to say if anyone asked that she expected either a pool or a waterslide from the Flynn-fletcher boys on a day this hot. It would work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She saw a flyer floating in the breeze. She leapt up to catch it, thinking it was someone's lost paper. To her surprise it wasn't a flyer or document, it was a BOGO coupon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For sand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not fun colorful sand that you could mold like Play-Doh. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Normal beach sand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Buy one truck of sand, get two free! All sand must go! My wife won’t let me live my dream of starting a sandcastle real estate business.’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese pushed it into her pocket. She walked the rest of the way to the house. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She came just as Candace was walking back into the house. Phineas and Ferb were playing in a backyard sandbox, using the hose to create the ocean. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re gonna need more sand.” Phineas commented. “Hey. Where’s Perry?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey boys!” Reese greeted. She waved the coupon in the air. “Heard you needed some sand?” She handed the coupon to Phineas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He read it over. Ferb glanced over his brother’s shoulder, keeping the hose aimed at the sandbox. Phineas grinned. “Yeah. That’ll do it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Twenty minutes later, they had gotten their trucks of sand. Reese had signed the contracts allowing them to take the sand. Phineas was signing a landscape contract that would let them use the nearby lots for the beach. Zoning permits too- Reese was certain those were important.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aren’t you a little young to be a landscape contractor?” The contractor asked Phineas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He handed back the signed clipboard. “Yes, yes I am.” He replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi, Phineas.” Isabella greeted, dreamily to Phineas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese moved on to direct the trucks to where they could dump the sand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, hey Isabella.” Phineas greeted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatcha doin’?” Isabella asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Building a beach. Check it out.” Phineas showed Isabella into the backyard. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Drop!” Reese yelled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The trucks started pouring out the sand. Ferb continued working a giant sprinkler to create the ‘ocean’.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese grinned proudly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can me and the Fireside girls be lifeguards?” Isabella asked. Reese’s phone rang. She answered it. “We need to earn our Aquatic-Safety badges.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure.” Phineas agreed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Phineas!” Reese called. The redhead turned to her. “The truck with the beach stuff is here!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Awesome!” Phineas cheered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before long, they had the beach set up to perfection. Reese still wasn’t sure how Ferb found a water fountain that looked like a dolphin. Phineas had spread the word from the radio to let people know about the beach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The wet-ski’s are setting up, the smoothie bar is too, and the surf boards you rented are available. However the authentic luau experience will be coming in ten minutes.” Reese informed Phineas. “They want to know if it’s safe to light a fire on our beach.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As long as they follow safety procedures, I don’t see why not.” Phineas stated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese nodded. She texted that to the party.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Candace stormed over. Her phone was in her hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Welcome to our beach.” Phineas announced to the Fireside Lifeguards.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hah! You call that a </span>
  <em>
    <span>beach</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Candace laughed. She thought it was about the sandbox. Reese lowered her sunglasses to give Candace a look. “This is </span>
  <em>
    <span>WAY </span>
  </em>
  <span>below your usual standard. This isn’t even worth a call to mom.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ferb held up a button. Without looking away from his sister, Phineas pushed it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, if you guys ever want to be popular, you're gonna have to stop playing in sandboxes.” Candace was stopped by a beach ball hitting her on the head. “Hey!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese gave a thumbs up to the Fireside Girl that had thrown it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So Candace, what do you think?” Phineas asked innocently.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That's it! I'm calling Mom.” Candace warned, foreboding as she held up her phone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese would’ve stayed to hear more, if she didn’t have work to do. She walked out onto the beach, accepting a call. “Reese Martin, how can I help you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey! This is Stanky Dog!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> The radio announcer cheered over the line. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You wanted us to set up at the second hut?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes! There’s a sign with your name on it. I’ll be there in just a minute.” Reese replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“This is a rocking beach! How come I haven’t seen it before?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fences.” Reese excused. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The crowd had gathered at the beach. Age groups all over- kids, teens, and adults. They all came to party at the Flynn-Fletcher beach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let's get this beach party started!” Phineas announced.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Music started blasting from Stanky Dog’s hut. Reese smiled in delight. She walked over to the smoothie bar they’d set up. She hummed along to the summer songs playing, enjoying the mango smoothie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was so relaxing. Reese could understand why people liked the beach so much. She herself didn’t enjoy it- too much sand. She thought it was actually a funny joke that she was the one to find all the sand!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was on her third smoothie when </span>
  <em>
    <span>Backyard Beach</span>
  </em>
  <span> started. She looked out on the beach, seeing Candace dressed up as Queen of the Beach. Reese shrugged before hopping off her seat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Listen up people and I’ll teach ya ‘bout Phineas and Ferb and the backyard beach-a!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Ferb rapped. Reese nodded to the beat, still drinking a smoothie.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “Every morning, Phineas, he gonna say (</span>
  </em>
  <span>Say</span>
  <em>
    <span>!) ‘</span>
  </em>
  <span>Brother, whatcha gonna do today?’</span>
  <em>
    <span> Now you see we're having fun, playing under the sun, and get in line, get in line, ‘cause the wet ski’s running!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese bobbed her head. It made her hair fly about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“A backyard beach, a backyard beach! Nothing’s outta reach, we got the backyard beach!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Ferb rapped on. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You can change in the broken hut, drink out of a coconut-”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese held up her drink. She let out a loud cheer. The beach crowd cheered with her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Three games for a token, but the rest is free! You got skiing, parasailing, surfing and a-flailing, your contacts need saline or else, you can't see.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Ferb rapped.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “Got the backyard beach, a backyard beach. Nothing's out of reach, we got the backyard beach. Got the backyard beach, a backyard beach! Don't fall into the breach, got the backyard beach!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I've never been happier in my entire life!” Candace cheered as she danced with Jeremy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese laughed. She finished off her smoothie. She decided to get some time in the water before Doofenshimirtz blew up the beach.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Reese spat out ocean water. She gave her head a hard shake, getting the heavy dampness out. Reese was glad to be out of the water. She shook her head again, trying to get out all the salt water. Why they’d decided salt water instead of literally any of the other kinds of water Reese suggested, she’d never know. Authentic beach experience, was what Phineas said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’d just come out of a rinse-off shower they’d added when she heard it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Surf contest!” Stanky Dog announced.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She walked to the sign-up table. That was Phineas’ job, they’d decided when they decided to make the contest in the first place. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As she walked up, she saw the neighborhood bully there too. Buford stood in front of the table with a smug grin. “Out of my way, Dinner-bell.” Buford commanded, bragging.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Buford</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Phineas greeted with no politeness. “Perhaps you missed the sign.” He pointed to the side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Buford turned to it. Reese pointed at it, not hiding the grin on her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>‘No Bullying, No Yodeling’</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Buford read off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A Yodeller- who happened to be walking by- scoffed. “I don’t like this any more than you do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you actually attended those yodelling classes, you’d have a chance.” Reese reminded him. They’d added the rule after they found out he wasn’t a professional yodeller like he said. Nah, he was just another amateur. And the only thing worse than yodelling was </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad</span>
  </em>
  <span> yodelling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Yodeller had nothing to say to her. He turned his nose up, leaving the beach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese figured that’s what he had to say.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The competition started not long after. Reese watched from the beach. She listened, lowering her sunglasses as the sun started to set.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“First up in the surf contest is Bobby Nelson. Oh! And Nelson eats it on five-footer!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Stanky Dog reported. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“And there's Django Brown shooting the curl, and here comes Buford Van Stomm!” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We told him to get off the beach!” Reese growled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Isabella sighed at her side. She shook her head, hands on her hips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ohh! He pummels Brown with a Philadelphia traffic stomp! And now he's got him in a Half-Nelson, now a Full-Nelson, oh! And now he's actually beating him with Bobby Nelson! Here's the scores from our judges.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The judges- thankfully- gave Bufurd a bad score. Including a fraction. They hadn’t been allowed to give 0’s.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“And Buford doesn't like it one bit.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Buford threw Bobby Nelson at the judge that gave him the fraction.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Next up is Phineas Flynn, and it's great to see a young surfer show such confidence.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Phineas was reclining on the surfboard, just chilling. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Uh-oh, what's this?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Buford tackled him. How he missed the surfboard beside, complete with Phineas and holographic projector tripod, Reese would never know.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, those kids today and their holographic projections.” Stanky Dog remarked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Isabella cheered loudly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese chuckled at the enthusiasm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“He’s in the pipeline, now he’s hangin’ ten! He's hanging twenty! He's hangin' thirty-two! Now he’s just hangin’! The crowd loves it! I don’t think there's a name for that!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Phineas was running on the surfboard- making it do cartwheels in the water. Anyone who’s tried that with a board knows it’ll pop out. His surfboard launched him in the air, flying towards the crowd. Luckily he had such a great crowd out there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“The crowd is doing the wave, and Phineas is surfing it!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Stanky Dog laughed, impressed at the skill.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “Let's go to the judges. 10 to the 5th power, infinity, and oh! It seems Phineas Flynn's radical surfing has made judge #3 re-think Einstein's theory of relativity! Cowabunga, laws of nature!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese gave Phineas the trophy. He accepted- holding it up high for the crowd to see. Everyone cheered again. Isabella looked like she had actual heart eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Candace got a call from her mom. In a panic, she left the beach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese took that as a sign to pack up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before she got the chance, a large formation pushed it’s way out from the middle of their ocean. She stared at it, lowering her sunglasses. The volcano was a lot taller than she expected it to be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that a volcano?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t order one of those.” Reese turned to Phineas. “Did you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe Ferb did.” Phineas excused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before anyone could check with Ferb, the volcano erupted. Only instead of lava spewing from the top it was-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“GNOOOOOMES!” Stanky Dog yelled. One hit him in the face. “Oof!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“DITCH THE BEACH!” Reese yelled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The crowd screamed. In panicked droves they rushed away from the beach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Run for your lives!! It's gnome-ageddon!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who's protecting our gardens?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the gnomes fell, they destroyed a lot of the stands and huts stacked around the place. Reese ran towards the backyard. She dodged two gnomes that were aimed at her head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The gnomes stopped spewing out before anyone could get hurt. The volcano collapsed on itself. It was as if someone flipped a switch from ‘blow’ to ‘suck’ on a giant under-ground vacuum. It sucked the ‘ocean’ into it, taking the sand and the destroyed remains away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese was proud she’d collected the profits they’d made today before this all happened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Perry the Platypus crawled out from the hole made by the absent volcano. He walked up to his owners.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, there you are Perry.” Phineas remarked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Perry chattered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well everybody, looks like that’s all for today!” Phineas announced to the crowd.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They cheered his and Ferb’s names. The brothers, Isabella, and Reese walked back into the backyard. The fence was raised to block the sight of the beach. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That was great.” Phineas praised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese said nothing to confirm. She’d enjoyed the day. It was better than the beach days she’d had in the past. Even the lawn gnomes hadn’t ruined it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, boys.” Their mother greeted as she walked into the backyard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, mom.” Phineas greeted. Ferb waved.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So how was your day at the beach?” Linda asked, glancing at the sandbox.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Candace rushed into the backyard. She was clearly somehow half way to panic. “Wait, wait, my kingdom...my Jeremy...it was all so beautiful...!” She turned to her brothers, eyes wide. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY PARADISE?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their mom put her hands on Candace’s shoulders. Isabella went over to help. “Candace, honey, I think it's time to get you out of the sun for a little while.” The two of them guided a stunned Candace inside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think she had fun.” Phineas commented.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Totally.” Reese nodded. She handed Phineas a metal box. “Here’s anything we made today. I already set aside the money for the surfboards and the luau- it’s all labelled. Everyone else volunteered. You guys know what to do with the cash?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Phineas nodded. He handed the metal box to Ferb. “Yeah. Whatever we make tomorrow is gonna be awesome! Thanks for your help, Reese!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No trouble.” Reese waved off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two brothers went over to their tree, reclining under it. Perry joined them, relaxing with the air of a job well done.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The radio flared to life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Stanky Dog here with a special shout-out to my two new pals, Phineas and Ferb, for hosting a beach party that was hot, hot, hot. And speaking of hot, slather on the sunscreen listeners, cause tomorrow's weather calls for another scorcher.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“With a slight chance of scattered lawn gnomes.” Ferb commented.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Phineas laughed. Reese did too as she left the backyard.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She made it home after sunset. Her hair had dried, same for her swimsuit. She threw on her normal clothes before walking inside. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The house was empty. Reese wasn’t sure if she was upset by that or not. She set about making herself dinner- mac n cheese an easy go-to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A quick check to her room showed Zara still chilling. She went up to the cobra, letting the snake crawl up her arm. Reese pet the snake’s head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you have a good day?” Reese asked as she walked back to the kitchen. The pasta was just coming to a boil. Zara hissed. “Yeah, I bet you did. Everything was hot today. The boys made a beach. I found a coupon for trucks of sand. Can you believe some guy’s dream was to own a sandcastle real estate business? It was weird, Zara, really weird.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara hissed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I knew you’d get it.” Reese stated. She took the pasta off the stove, moving it to the sink to be drained. She made sure not to lean in- the steam was hot. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before long she finished up the dish. Reese scarfed it down. Occasionally stopping to talk to Zara, mindless chatter to anyone else. Reese kept up this chatter as she cleaned up her dishes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A car pulled up to the driveway, after 8 pm. A full hour after Reese came home. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese rushed off to her room before Mr Martin could come inside. She didn’t want him seeing that she’d let out Zara. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The cobra was resting around her shoulders. Reese could feel a tension not unlike when one was about to strike. She reached up, brushing carefully on Zara’s head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay.” Reese whispered. The door to the house opened. Reese set about getting ready for bed. “It’s alright- he’s not gonna know. That’s the last thing any of us want, yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The cobra gave no reply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese had to accept that as just how snakes said yes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She lowered her snake into her tank. She had it set perfectly when footsteps came from up the hall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The door to her room swung open. Reese stood still, her hands clasped behind her back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mr Martin glared into the room. Reese could see his eyes were bloodshot, and he’d clearly been somewhere with low air conditioning cause his work shirt was stuck to his body in sweat. He smelled awful too. Reese knew what sweaty men smelled like- she’d grown up around plenty when she was Morgan. Mr Martin smelled like sweat and beer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sniffed. His bloodshot eyes moved to the tank. Maybe some part of him suspected that cobra had been let loose in his house. Or maybe he saw how the cobra was glaring at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese stayed silent, but alert. She would be ready to dodge should Mr Martin do anything untoward.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mr Martin sniffed again. A sneer of disdain was on his face as he marched out of her room. The tension on Reese’s body didn’t leave until he made it to the living room, the sounds of the TV playing confirming that he was settled for a long while.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She let out a small breath. With that handled, she got the rest of her nightly ritual in place. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Reese dashed about the room, Salazara couldn’t help but watch. The poor child hadn’t even been surprised to come home to an empty house, for having to make her own dinner instead of having one made for her. Worse yet her owner had looked ready for an attack with Mr Martin walking in. The cobra wished that Reese would let her out- just for a quick bite. Sure, Carl would write her up but there was a good excuse.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese tucked herself into bed. “Good night, Zara.” She turned off her bedside lamp. The glow from the heat lamp was the only light in the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Salazara hissed at her owner. She wouldn’t let anything happen to Reese- not one chance. She had to play it safe, though, just like Reese was. Right now all Salazara had were ideas- theories concocted by what she’d seen the past three days. It wouldn’t be enough for OWCA. It was enough for her to see what Mr Martin was like.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Takes a snake to know a snake.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Still working...still working. Phew! Good times, really. Hope everyone is staying safe this summer.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Pop Starz</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Little known fact, Reese liked to sing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She loved it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Back in her home reality, she sang a lot to her little brothers and kids she babysat to make them go to sleep. She sang the loudest when a new Disney song came about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’s not gonna lie. That was a big selling point for this show. </span>
</p><p><span>She climbed out of her bed that morning. She was already tapping her feet to </span><em><span>‘Gitchie Gitchie Goo’.</span></em> <em><span>Phineas &amp; Ferb </span></em><span>had the best songs.</span></p><p>
  <span>As Reese quietly danced in the kitchen, she heard a hiss from behind her. She turned to see Zara slithering up the counter. She smiled at the snake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I can sing.” Reese noted. She poured milk into her cereal, walking it back to the fridge. She continued talking all the while. “It’s fun. It’s easier to carry a tune than people think. Did you know that blue whales mate for life, and they use their whale songs to call that mate? Like a personalized ringtone for them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sat the bowl down on the table. She held her arm up in Zara’s path. The cobra wrapped herself around Reese’s arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese moved them both to the table. She started eating with her snake-free arm. “It’s just...wow. How romantic. I found out about it cause apparently one kept calling out the mating tune but it’s mate was dead so no whale ever came. A perfect tragedy, like something from Greece.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The snake hissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! Exactly.” Reese mused. She hummed, bringing up another spoonful to her mouth. “Happy you get it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She should finish her breakfast fast. She would have a lot of work today.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Phineas had texted everyone in the unofficial band. Meaning, mostly the Ferbettes. Reese had gotten the text to help get the legal matters down. She loved that about as much as she loved singing. Well maybe not as much, but it was fun too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese had been on and off the phone for an hour. Getting the song everywhere she could reach, then intimidating all the places she couldn’t. She was like, ten, that’s short.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When everyone grouped up at the mall, they were the most popular band in the Tri-State Area. Reese preened as she directed the band to the stage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was agreed that our performance would be separate from the competition itself.” Reese explained to Phineas. “We agreed that we would give the 100th contentestant a guest appearance in our song, which would double as their audition.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The backstage was in constant movement. The Fireside Girls were running around, getting into their outfits for the show. Reese saw Ferb setting up his keyboard. Phineas himself was getting in makeup.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds great!” Phineas replied. “Wow. I wonder who it’ll be.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So do I.” Reese lied, knowing full well it would be Candace. Wasn’t it always Candace? “Are you ready?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...so here’s the thing-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’d you break?” Reese deadpanned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was practicing this thing where they slam the guitar into the ground-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would you practice that?! It’s self-explanatory!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese let out a breath between her teeth. “Whatever.” She reached into her Bag. “Give me a second.” She searched inside it for a long minute. When she found the desired object, she pulled it out. “You’re so lucky I stopped by the garbage on the way here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She still couldn’t believe someone threw this away. What, just because the strings needed tuning? Danville was weird.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Classic, bright orange, just tuned. It fits with the general theme of the band so-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s perfect!” Phineas took the guitar, throwing it over his shoulders. He tried out a few chords. “Awesome!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now get going!” Reese started pushing him towards the stage. “You’re needed for dress, and I have calls to make.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas saluted. “Yes ma’am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he rushed out to the stage, Reese let out a long breath. If she hurried, she could make sure that lunch made it for the band </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> get to a bookstore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was hard being a band manager.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese liked to think she was making it look easy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was Candace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese tucked away her recent purchases into her Bag. She walked up to the side of the stage. Phineas handed the sheet music to Candace. Reese pulled out her phone, texting another radio station. Having a lot of exposure would be good for the short life of the band.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She set up a camera. Her own personal video camera, bought from her home reality to be brought to this one. A real life viewing of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Gitchie Gitchie Goo.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She wanted this song saved like that for the rest of her life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ladies and gentlemen, the Ferbettes!” Phineas called out in the crowd. Reese started nodding her head to the beat. “I’m Phineas and this is Ferb, and we’re gonna sing a song!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese nodded her head along to the beat. She stepped back from the camera, bobbing her head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Bow Chicka, Bow-Wow! That’s what my baby says! Mow-mow-mow! And my heart starts pumping! Chicka-Chicka, Choo Wah! Never gonna stop! Gitchee Gitchee Goo means that I love you!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She started dancing. She loved the song. She’d only had it in her life but she’d been singing it for days. Reese couldn’t help it- she liked it. She liked all the songs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I said a Bow, Chicka, Bow-Wow! That’s what my baby says! Mow-mow-mow!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Reese twirled in place. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>And my heart starts pumping! Chicka-Chicka, Choo Wah! Never gonna stop! Gitchee Gitchee Goo means that I love you! I said a Bow, Chika, Bow-Wow!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Candace!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Phineas cued.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese had continued singing, going along with the music that was now playing in just her head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“That’s what my baby says! Mow-mow-mow</span>
  </em>
  <span>!</span>
  <em>
    <span> And my heart starts pumping! Chicka-chika-”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The music cut off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese almost complained. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned to the stage to find out what had gone wrong. To her dismay, it was Candace. At that, Reese turned off the camera. She tucked it away into her Bag. She’d start filming again later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait a minute! What are you doing?” Candace snapped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m cuing you?” Phineas replied, confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’d you get a hit single?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, it wasn’t easy. It took most of the morning and Reese made a dozen phone calls. But if you’re willing to put in the work-” Phineas explained. Reese preened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s it! I’m gonna tell Mom!” Candace snapped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay...tell her what?” Phineas asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Candace sneered. “Ooh, I’m just gonna tell.” She stormed off the stage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese winced. The music picked back up to finish the song. Reese couldn’t get too into it because an attendant tapped her shoulder. “Yes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Someone is looking for you, miss.” The attendant explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese nodded. The attendant showed her the way out of backstage to meet someone outside. There, she was met with a tall blond man. She stood straight, waiting for him to speak first.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man didn’t disappoint. “Reese Martin, manager for Phineas and the Ferbtones?” Ben Baxter asked. He held out his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is she.” Reese replied. “You must be Ben Baxter, Huge-O-Records.” She accepted the handshake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s right! Why don’t you bring the talent to my office in an hour and we can talk about their future? Here’s my card.” The man held out a gold shaded business card.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you. Here, have mine.” She held out her own business card.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A simple white shaded card, her name done in golden letters while the band was labelled beneath in their logo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ben’s eyes widened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese knew it wasn’t the best. It was a cartoon, so she was allowed leeway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is a great business card!” Ben replied with a barking sort of laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese was reminded suddenly of the scene in </span>
  <em>
    <span>American Psycho,</span>
  </em>
  <span> where this exact thing had happened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re going places kid! Like my office- one hour!” Ben reminded her, walking away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese let herself smile. She’d earned it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Walking back inside, she found the Flynn-Fletchers putting their instruments aside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys! Good news!” She held out the business card. Phineas grabbed it, giving it a quick read. “Ben Baxter came by. He’s with a record label. That was the next part of the plan.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cool.” Phineas beamed. He turned to Ferb. “Excited, Ferb?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb held up a thumb.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s excited.” Phineas told Reese.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You round up the girls. I’ll meet you guys outside.” Reese grinned. “We’re riding in style.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They left in time for Candace to have brought Linda back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You got it?!” Phineas asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese tossed up the pair of keys in her hand. “I got it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now indeed, in the episode they had a huge bus with their faces and logo on the side. That had been cool. Reese, though, thought it could be </span>
  <em>
    <span>better. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She got a bus with their faces and logo on the outside, and TVs on the inside. Also cup holders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was terrifying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And legally she has to say the men </span>
  <em>
    <span>will </span>
  </em>
  <span>be able to live independently by the end of the week.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it set up to play whatever you guys want.” Reese instructed. The brothers ran onto the bus. Reese turned to Isabella. “Ferbettes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Isabella gave a curt nod. “Already loading up the bus.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.” Reese let herself into the bus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They left five minutes later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The TV’s were all playing a movie that came out a few months back. Apparently it was popular here. Reese had no idea- she kept up with the movies back Home a lot more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was curled up in a seat, her legs stretched out into the next. She was reading one of the books she’d bought today. It was about snakes. Though she had no idea what kind of missions her super secret agent snake was doing, she just wanted to send good thoughts Zara’s way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was reading a great bit about snake biology when they drove over the overpass. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, what a great painting! How did you get permission for that?” Isabella asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, they didn’t mind. The building’s scheduled for demolition.” Phineas explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese looked up from her book. The building collapsed. She didn’t even want to look towards the mall behind them. She knew it was unlikely she could see Candace and Linda from here, but it was possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She went back to her book.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were all sitting in a meeting. Reese was still reading her book on snakes. The brothers were talking to the record producer. Reese kept an ear open for them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Boys, let me start by saying we </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>your act and we want to be in the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Phineas and the Ferb-Tones business</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Ben Baxter praised. “And by the way, aren’t you a little young to be pop stars?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas and Ferb blinked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...No.” Phineas deadpanned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ben blinked back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, okay then!” Ben cheered. “We prepared to offer you a very lucrative contract if you’ll just sign exclusively with us for your follow-up single. We’ll even take on your manager! Usually we would give you one, but you’re such a well oiled machine we couldn’t take you apart!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He held up a document. It had </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘contract’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>on the top in classic boring adult font.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese liked her fonts better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She could use </span>
  <em>
    <span>WordArt </span>
  </em>
  <span>for that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Follow-up single?” Phineas raged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no, you angered the talent.” Reese mused, turning a page in the book. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas stormed over, snatching the contract from Ben’s hands. He tore it apart. “Who do you think we are, some two-bit hacks who will keep writing new songs just because you pay us obscene amounts of cash?!” He threw up the contract like confetti.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without looking up from her book, Reese stood up from the table. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Phineas and the Ferb-Tones</span>
  </em>
  <span> are strictly a one-hit wonder!” Phineas snapped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese walked into the elevator, moving the book to one hand and calling the elevator with the other. It pinged. It filled up with the Fireside Girls and the brothers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good day to you, sir!” Phineas yelled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese pressed the button, waving her  fingers at the executives of Huge-O-Records.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door slid shut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice rant.” Reese complimented. She used her free hand to pull out her phone. She used her thumb to turn the page in her book.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas preened. “Thanks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Any practice?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope.” Phineas answered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At that, they paid attention to the music playing in the elevator.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Diva tantrum, check.” Phineas listed. Ferb held up a clipboard. “Elevator music, check.” Ferb checked them off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just another day with the Flynn-Fletchers.” Reese mused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Fireside Girls laughed in agreement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once they reached the bottom floor, they all walked outside. Perry the Platypus was walking up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, there you are, Perry.” Phineas stated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bus pulled up. Reese waved to the driver. The driver waved back. They’d painted the upgrade onto the side. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘PFT: Reunion Concert!’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>Reese liked it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, guys. We still have one thing left to do.” Phineas reminded them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reese set up her camera again. She was in a rush. She’d stopped at the bookstore again. What could she say, it was her passion. It was blowing her spending budget but she could make it up from the funds in the reunion concert. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Super-America-Pop-Teen-Idol-Star </span>
  </em>
  <span>was happy for the publicity.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pressed record.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Candace.” Phineas called from the stage. Reese smiled, leaning on the chair she’d set up too. “You’re still the hundredth contestant, wanna come up and help us out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Candace walked up.</span>
</p><p><span>Reese started singing quietly to herself.</span><em><span> “Bow, Chicka, Bow-Wow!</span></em> <em><span>That’s what my baby says! Mow-mow-mow! And my heart starts pumping!</span></em><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>Reese glanced at the book, beginning to move according to it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Chicka-Chicka, Choo Wah! Never gonna stop! Gitchee Gitchee Goo means that I love you!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Reese laughed, dancing to the song.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “I said a Bow, Chicka, Bow-Wow! That’s what my baby says! Mow-mow-mow! And my heart starts pumping! Chicka-Chicka, Choo Wah! Never gonna stop! Gitchee Gitchee Goo means that I love you!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She danced and sang until the lights went out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All in all, a good day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zara was reclining in her case. The heated lamp was perfect, making the room more humid than normal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door to the bedroom was thrown open. Reese caught it before it slammed into the wall. Mr Martin was home- he didn’t like loud slamming noises.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Were you ever going to tell me snakes were deaf?” Reese asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The snake stared at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese shook her head, unable to stop a giddy smile. “You asked for it, chika.” She pulled up the huge bag on her shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zara often wondered just how much was in that Bag, why she carried around a bag that big. The snake had tried sometimes pushing the Bag, or moving it to a better place. It was surprisingly heavy. The child was already small, carrying around that heavy Bag all the time wasn’t healthy in the long run.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese pulled out a book. She showed it to the snake. “I know you’re not blind so you can see it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cover said </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘learning to sign for dummies’.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Zara was struck silent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese smirked. “I know you can’t sign back, but it’s the absolute least I could do for you!” She lifted Zara up onto her shoulders. The snake let herself be moved, too surprised to stop it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese kept quiet until they made it to her room. Once the snake was on the ground, Reese turned to make sure her face was always in sight of the snake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I learned Arabic for a classmate. Learning sign language is just another language, just with hands.” Reese explained. She sat across from Zara, resting the book in her lap. She turned the pages. “This’ll be great.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zara watched the girl, as struck by Reese as she had been before. Everyday that Reese had broken so many assumptions Zara had made of her. She had not yet seen a human behave like this. Learning sign language for a snake? Giving up her entire day for helping the neighborhood children? Zara could hardly believe it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese held up her hands. “Okay! Okay.” She followed along with the pictures on the page. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“My...name...R-E-E-S-E M-A-R-T-I-N.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> She signed. “Oh that’s long. I should find something shorter, so that you can-” She paused, looking up at Zara. “...you can’t sign back. Meh. I’m gonna go with it anyway. It’s only kind.</span>
  <em>
    <span> A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity</span>
  </em>
  <span>. A talking cucumber told me that it’s gotta be true.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Such a shame that Zara couldn’t tell the girl that she could read lips. Such a shame indeed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So anyway, I was gonna play you the song we played today. Since you can’t hear it, I thought I’d have to sign it instead! Just give me some time, there are a few signs I’m still tweaking.” Reese explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese spent an hour in that book, signing various signs and getting them wrong more often than not. She was getting better, self-correcting the signs as she went.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She performed her song, proudly and quietly for only her pet to hear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zara was proud of her charge.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Fast and the Phineas</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>She could drive a car.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As long as nobody asked her for her license.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or asked any questions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Really, just go with it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She could drive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just...wear your seatbelt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She woke up, already excited. Also tired. She knew she’d stayed up too late last night. It had just been too much fun practicing singing with Zara. Could Reese help it that signing was fun?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She practiced her spellings as she went about making herself breakfast. Zara watched with a flat look. Reese made sure to sign in a way that looked sassy. Zara wouldn’t know how sass sounded, but damn Reese if she couldn’t convey it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was figuring out the letter </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘z’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>when she heard the stomping of feet. Reese tensed only when she caught sight of the man, who plopped himself into a chair at the table. She glanced at Zara, who was relaxing on the counter.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t let her out</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese quickly signed ‘hide’.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zara continued to stare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr Martin made a scoffing noise, maybe more of a cough. “I’m gonna be busy today. So I don’t want to see you around, got it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes sir.” Reese replied. She hid the urge to look towards Zara again. There was no telling if Mr Martin would notice. His parental style was one of neglect, that didn’t mean Reese was ready to see what happened if she broke one of the few rules he had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grumbled, waving his hand at Reese. “What are you standing around for? I said go!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese winced. She picked up the small bowl of her breakfast, walking out of the kitchen to avoid Mr Martin. She had no chance to grab Zara. Her only hope was that the snake would soundlessly move.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She walked to the Flynn-Fletcher house. She ignored her own racing heart, ignored the tiny little voice in her mind fretting about what would happen if Mr Martin found Zara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was 71. She had to stop stressing like this. Was her heart that old? Reese thought she’d have a heart attack with how fast it was racing. She could smell toast! Wait no that had been Mr Martin’s crisp breakfast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A car was zooming on the road. Reese had to run to cross the street to avoid one of the fast reverses of the car.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ran up the sidewalk. The car zoomed by a few more times as she walked to the two brothers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Ferb. What's the red button for?” Phineas asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb pushed the big red button on the car. The car made a loud humming noise before blasting upright. Reese followed the car sight</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“MOOOOOOOOM!” Candace screamed. She dragged her mother out from the neighbor’s house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it? What do you want me to see?” Mrs Flynn-Fletcher asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Quick!” Candace yelled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Mom!” Phineas waved to his mom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The car was still in the sky. Reese was actually impressed with that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, boys!” Their mother greeted. “Well, if that’s all, I’ll just be getting back to the game.” She walked back inside the neighbor’s house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s only when the doors closed that the car landed back on the pavement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good thing we’ve beefed up the suspension.” Phineas remarked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese held out her arm. “Could I try?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb handed over the remote. It took Reese a moment to get the controls. When she did, she set the car along the short road in lots of drift style turns and quick turns. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah! Awesome job, Reese!” Phineas cheered. “How’d you do that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese hummed, bringing the car back. “Played a lot of car video games. Got the top score in the arcade.” That, and a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot </span>
  </em>
  <span>of toy race cars races against her two baby brothers. Those two were </span>
  <em>
    <span>chumps</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Heck, she’d even driven hover cars that were faster than those remote pieces of garbage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She added a little spin before stopping the car.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah! What else can it do?” Phineas asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese and Ferb exchanged looks. Ferb’s was flat, his usual expression. Reese had a knowing grin. If the car needed a few upgrades, Reese would most certainly deliver.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like she said, hover cars were an option.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Isabella walked over. The commotion with Candace catching her attention. “Hi, Phineas.” Isabella greeted, practically standing there with heart eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, hi, Isabella.” Phineas greeted back- without heart eyes. Seemingly having no idea what heart eyes even </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’cha doin’?” Isabella asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re entering The Swamp Oil 500 today.” Phineas explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you gonna need a pit crew?” Isabella asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> a pit crew?” Phineas countered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well...I know a few people who work well together.” Isabella offered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great! You’re hired! See you at the track.” Phineas requested. He turned to Ferb. “Hey Ferb, Reese, where’s Perry?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb and Reese shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t run back home</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t run back home</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Zara is fine.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She’s fine.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She’s smart and he’s slow so she’s fine.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You have to believe she’s fine.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were in the stadium. Reese was so excited- she was practically shaking with joy. She was adding touch-ups to the car to make turns easier. She could hear Isabella instructing the Fireside Girls on the engine, along with Reese and Ferb’s touch ups.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was still ignoring the impulse to run home. To just hop in the car and rush over to the Martin house to check on her snake. It would be easy, and quick. The race was gonna start any minute but Reese figured she could make it.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“...and in the 3rd lane, the newcomers Team Phineas! Now is it just me, or does he look a little young to be behind the wheel of a 700 horsepower racing machine?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” One of the overhead announcers noed.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes. Yes, he does.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> His co-announcer agreed.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“And look, he’s already got his own screaming fans!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The big mega TV shifted from an image of Phineas to an image of Candace. Reese smirked as the image started to scream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Candace is rooting for us!” Phineas cheered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah!” Reese yelled. She slapped down the engine. “Okay. She’s all good to go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb held up a thumb at Phineas.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other cars started to move out to the starting line. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on- we gotta move.” Reese stated. “Good luck, Phineas!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks Reese!” Phineas waved them goodbye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“And with the race about to start, there’s the Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated blimp!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>They were at the race track by then. Reese and Ferb were high up in the sky. Reese could see the whole racetrack down below. They were high enough that she couldn’t hear the loud murmurs from the excited crowd. Still, the breeze would come by to let Reese smell burnt rubber.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese loved it. All the best parts of a racetrack without the bad parts of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And she could drive a car. Again, best parts without worst parts. All she had to do was not kill Phineas. Easy peesy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese had on a headset. That was </span>
  <em>
    <span>cool</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She had it turned down so she could hear the announcers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She and Ferb sat quietly above the stadium. They had moved there after the last few touch-ups on the car. Reese thought the car was gonna be cool even after they took off the racecar aspects.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All of it was keeping her calm enough to forget about her snake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then the race itself began.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese began to drive. While Candace can make fun of this race, saying that all they do is take left turns, it wasn’t all that. Reese had to maneuver Phineas through the crowd of cars without crashing him or anyone else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just a very life action version of Mario Kart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese rocked at that. She kept herself focused on the game, watching the other drivers and moving Phineas accordingly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was having fun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like any normal kid.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“And on the fast on the inside lane is Number 42, Team Phineas!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The phone rang. Ferb answered it, holding it up so Reese could hear too.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey, Ferb. Does Reese have anything that’ll give us more power?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Phineas asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb raised an eyebrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese nodded. She handed him the remote, then reached in her bag. She was able to find something. There was a car battery- purely for experimental purposes. She plopped it down on her side. Ferb held up a set of jumper cables. Reese grinned.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I mean, I know it’s just a battery. But I was thinking-”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb popped out the batteries. He attached the cables to the remote. Reese took the control back.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Let’s open it up and see what this puppy can-Uh, Ferb? We’re actually slowing down now. Ferb? Hello?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold on!” Reese warned. She flipped a switch, sending the car forward.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“OH YEAH! NOW THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKIN’ ABOUT!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Phineas shouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb held up a thumb. Reese nodded, grinning. Ferb hung up. Course, it rang again.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey, Reese, Ferb.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Isabella greeted.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “We should bring Phineas in for a pit stop.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb nodded to Reese. She moved the car into the pits. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hit it, Reese.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Isabella reported.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese set the car to drive again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did they give it a bow?” Reese asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb shrugged his shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a nice bow, I’ll give ‘em that.” Reese praised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then she got back to racing. Yeah, the track started falling apart cause of the Doof Blimp. Reese ignored those. She’d had blue shells thrown at her- she could dodge some shit on the road.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even when all the other cars were crashing into each other, Reese was able to make her car dodge them.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“The Team Phineas car is avoiding every obstacle! It’s like he can see the whole darn track at once!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> The announcer noted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t tell if you won’t.” Reese winked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb winked back. “It’ll be our little secret.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Holy shit that was the Ferb Line.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese laughed, moving the car around another crashing one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Music began to play from the stadium. Reese began to hum.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “Go Phineas. Go, go Phineas. Go Phineas. Go, go Phineas.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She moved the car again. More cars were crashing, Reese wouldn’t let them get in her way. They would all win this race, dammit! Luckily everyone in the crashing cars was okay. Otherwise Reese might be feeling guilt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Reese drove Phineas over the finish line, she shouted over the roar of the crowd. Ferb clapped.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’d won a race.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese Martin had won a race.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hell yes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese didn’t even mind when Doofenshmirtz and Perry crashed down into the stadium. Doof making off with the remote and the car.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d won the race.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm. Looks like we’re walking.” Phineas noted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese couldn’t care less.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She walked back into her home, walking on air. She’d been on this high since they got back from the stadium. Reese had won a race car race. How</span>
  <em>
    <span> awesome</span>
  </em>
  <span> was that!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The house lights weren’t on when she got home. Not that she expected them to be, it was only just after 5pm. Reese had gotten some snacks from the Flynn-Fletcher house, enjoying them as she opened the door of her home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All of a sudden, all the worry from throughout the day came crashing back to her. Reese choked on a gasp. She ran to the kitchen first.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No snake. But that didn’t mean all was well.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese let out a harsh breath. She ran to her bedroom. Zara’s cage was there, the heat lamp shining a bright red. Reese was beginning to look red as she ran, as that high from victory gave way to worry and concern.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She checked the bathroom next. Reese had seen most of the mice coming from the bathroom. If a hungry snake had gone off someplace, Reese reasoned it would be there.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No sign again.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Yep. Reese was starting to panic now. A panicking Reese was never a good thing. She made dumb choices when she was panicking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ran out to the living room. She made a mental checklist of all the places her snake could’ve run off. Well not run, Zara didn’t have legs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese yelped. Where could Zara go without any legs?!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then she heard a noise. The noise immediately made Reese deflate. The tension in her shoulders fell, like a puppet losing their strings. With heavy steps she walked into the living room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To her endless (but in real life more likely until tomorrow) relief, Reese saw Zara on the couch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You silly thing.” Reese chided. Unclear if she was scolding the snake or herself, Reese walked towards her. We must remember, mind you, that the snake was deaf.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She lifted Zara up. The cobra wasted no time in draping herself over Reese’s shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on. Let’s get you to your cage before he gets home.” Reese let out a relieved breath. “It’s a miracle he didn’t notice you this morning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zara, silently, knew it hadn’t been a miracle. Moreover, Zara had thrown a spoon with her tail. Mr Martin had gone off after it. When he was gone, Zara easily made her getaway. It had been a close one. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Reese was safe another day. Zara considered that a win.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And if a day were to come where Mr Martin did notice Zara out and about...well Zara had a way of fixing that.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Lights, Candace, Action!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Reese had a lot of info about movie critiquing. It was her thing, basically. Seeing what went wrong in a film then fixing it. That it was happening in front of her didn’t change her feelings. She’d stopped herself from changing their film multiple times.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was just...Reese had seen so many plot holes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Phineas had admitted that there was a problem in production. Reese could hardly turn away someone asking for the help. She pointed out the problem, and how it had basically infected the entire production which is why Phineas and Ferb felt blocked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once they fixed it, the video they uploaded was their most popular one yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese got a promotion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reese walked into the backyard. Phineas and Ferb were already cleaning up the effects from their last production.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Phineas. Hey Ferb.” Reese greeted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Reese.” Phineas greeted back, while Ferb just gave a short wave. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you know there’s a production team up your block?” Reese asked them. They had made it hard for Reese to get to their house. Hard, but not too difficult. She’d trained for getting past security- well she’d trained how to </span>
  <em>
    <span>be</span>
  </em>
  <span> security so sneaking past them was just...easy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas dumped some more of the destroyed set in the trash. “Yeah. Mom saw them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh.” Reese hummed. Her phone rang. Reese pulled it out, confused. Usually the people calling her this early was just Phineas. The ID wasn’t Mr Martin’s, which is most of the reason Reese answered. “Hello?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes! Hello! Is this Reese Martin, with Phineas and Ferb Productions? This was the number on the website for people wanting to reach out.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese huffed. She pulled the phone back, blocking the receiver with her hand. “Phineas! Did you add my personal line to the website of your vids?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told you to use the workline!” Reese reminded him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas hummed. “Oh yeah. Ferb will fix it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rolling her eyes, Reese went back to the phone. “This is she. To whom am I speaking?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m a big time movie producer. I wanted to ask if I could get your guys on my movie?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> The producer asked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“It’s a live action version of the Princess &amp; the Sensibilities.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese pulled the phone down. “Hey. You guys wanna direct a big budget movie?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ferb?” Phineas asked. Ferb held up a thumb. Phineas grinned at Reese. “Yep!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great!” Reese went back to the phone. “Alright, hit me. What’s your offer?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“A moderate payment for a first time director plus 2% gross.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Moderate payment? Excuse me, sir, but Phineas and Ferb Productions are the hottest new thing in online entertainment.” Reese argued. “We’d be putting aside our own projects to help you complete your’s. And we want 5% gross.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“5?! Uhh...I can give you it 3.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you. We also want a piece from the back end.” Reese bargained.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Sure. Fine.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“The payment?” Reese prompted. “Don’t think I forgot about that. If it would help, we can get our own team for cameras and set.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You can?! Then you can definitely get a better cut of the budget! Oh boy, this’ll be a big hit!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pleasure doing business.” Reese clapped her phone shut. She turned to the boys. “I’ll get the Fireside Girls together, I bet they could get some movie making badges from it. You two head on down. Make sure they give you the scripts so you can look them over.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas and Ferb proudly saluted. With an exchange of excited grins, the two ran from the backyard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese opened her phone, calling Isabella. “Isabella? Are you heading over?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I was just about to, yeah.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Change of plans. How does your trope feel about earning some Movie Making badges?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a rustling of paper. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh! We can earn our ‘Camera Operation’ badges. I don’t think we have those yet. There’s also the ‘Stage Work’ badge.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Call the Girls.” Reese instructed. “We’re meeting at the movie set down the street.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reese loved this. She loved the many moving parts of movie work. She helped get the Fireside Girls settled at the various spaces around the movie set. Together, she and Isabella had made sure that all the Fireside Girls were somewhere they had the best chance of getting another badge. Reese was on and off the phone with the writers, and other members of the movie team. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Every part of this was the best part of this. Even the lead actress that had decided to work for free, so that they could even afford Phineas and Ferb productions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Candace, baby!” The producer brought over the talent to the first set. “Let me introduce you to the directors of this film.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas and Ferb came down from the overhead camera. They were searching for good angles with the cameras before they started shooting. “Hi, Candace.” Phineas greeted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Phineas and Ferb? What are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>doing here?” Candace asked, horrified.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re directing the movie. Our agent arranged the whole thing.” Phineas pointed with a thumb towards Reese.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told you, I’m not afraid to pull us out of this project.” Reese scolded the studio. “The original direction was shoddy, and full of plotholes that nobody in your age demographic was going to follow. Kids want what we’re making. So either take it, or leave it.” She clapped it shut, opening it again with another call. “This had better be Syd. Please tell me you have the third act in line? Oh </span>
  <em>
    <span>thank you </span>
  </em>
  <span>Syd, you’re saving my life here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, wait!” Candace pulled the producer aside. “Don’t you think they’re a little </span>
  <em>
    <span>young </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be big-budget movie directors?” She pleaded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With 176,000,000 hits, they could be in </span>
  <em>
    <span>diapers </span>
  </em>
  <span>for all I care.” The producer countered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Costumes had finished with Candace’s look. Phineas and Ferb had gone over to make sure Candace was actually wearing it. Reese was watching over the set, watching over the Fireside Girls as they worked. Isabella had them working like a well oiled machine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese was still fielding calls left and right. It was a good thing she’d added the unlimited data package for her phone, otherwise she would’ve used up all her minutes. She still had the rubber snakes from the rollercoaster, it was just the spiders and rats that were giving her trouble. Same for the kitchen equipment. At this rate, Reese was just considering it easier to let real ones fall onto Candace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she couldn’t. Causing an incident like that was liable to get them sued. Reese was a lawyer, that didn’t mean she wanted her clients getting in trouble. It would be bad for their brand. So fake kitchen sinks were a must.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully Reese had managed to get some fake spiders and rats. While the Candace reaction shots of her screaming were great for the film, the last thing any of them needed was to clean those things up. Also Reese hated spiders too. She wouldn’t put her own worst enemy through having spiders dumped on them. So she’d spare Candace too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey! Ugly monster! You’re needed on the set!” Someone shouted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m coming!” Candace yelled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese called out to the Fireside Girls. “Who has my fake spiders and rats?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do!” Gretchen raised the box up high.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese clicked a finger gun at the Fireside Girl. “Yes!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Candace was standing in the middle of the stage set. Reese had finished setting up the props for Ferb, and making sure everything else was ready. Yes it may be a bit obsessive to make sure everything was perfect, can Reese be blamed? It was a Phineas and Ferb Production. With Candace on the payroll.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese was allowed to be paranoid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Candace. This is a very important scene.” Phineas explained to the lead. “It is nothing less than the emotional backbone of the whole film. Oh, and the villagers are coming at you with everything they’ve got.” He clapped the movie slat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese popped the top off the camera, letting Ginger run the camera. The two exchanged thumb-ups before going back to the filming.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, what do mean the villa-” Candace asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Action! The air force!” Phineas ordered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb started throwing toy airplanes at his sister. Candace took the hits, trying and failing to dodge them. The giant lizard head was blocking her view.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The space armada from the planet plumbing supplies!” Phineas called out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb and the Fireside Girls worked together to throw kitchen sinks and drains at Candace. It all collapsed on Candace- who had been unprepared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beautiful! That’s a print!” Phineas cheered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Candace just groaned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reese clapped the movie slate. Phineas had finished tricking Candace out with a banana hat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow! Is this banana hat for some cool tropical dance number?” Candace asked, looking actually excited and had no idea what her brothers were like, apparently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re trying to come up with some exciting camera angles for the big chase scene.” Phineas explained. “So we strapped a camera on to this starving monkey.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The monkey- a big hulking one that was basically a gorilla- was just outfitted with a camera hat. Reese was proud of finding gorilla strength velcro. Also confused. Why was that even a product? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It caught the scent of the bananas. With a roar, he chased after a screaming Candace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That idea was scrapped. Reese and Phineas put something else together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry that monkey cam didn’t work out. We’re gonna try it with Ferb this time.” Phineas handed his sister a sub sandwich from the craft service table. “Now take this sandwich and remember, Ferb hasn’t eaten lunch yet.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Candace took hold of the sandwich.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese jumped back just as Ferb caught the scent. He roared- an exact copy of the gorilla- then ran. Candace screamed as she was chased and tackled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Afterwards, Reese was helping get the camera off of Ferb’s head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re just using CGI for the monster face, right?” Reese asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb nodded, taking another bite of his sub.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s okay then.” Reese nodded, set firm in the idea.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Candace’s costume was fixed up. The monster hat was back on her head, but you could still see her enraged blue eyes glaring at everyone smaller than her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. In this scene, the monster; that’s you, gets attacked by 800 cubic feet of rats, spiders, and snakes.” Phineas told her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There is no way I am doing that!” Candace snapped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry.” Reese assured her. “The snakes and rats are rubber.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Candace relaxed. She walked over to do the scene.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about the spiders?” Phineas asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese smiled. She pulled a remote from her pockets. “Oh those are robots.” She pushed a button, activating all the robotic spiders. “I figured out how to make their moves realistic, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All the props were dumped on Candace. She screamed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>AAH! Get em’ off me! Get em’ off me! Get em’ off me! Get em’ off me! Get ’em off me! Get ’em off me! Get ’em off me!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe too realistic...” Reese made a note to fix that later. “She’ll be fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Plus we got a great shot!” Phineas cheered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had been filming for most of the morning. Reese had made sure all the other scenes without Candace had gone smoothly. The talent they were able to get was </span>
  <em>
    <span>incredible. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Even when they had scenes with Candace, they weren’t even annoyed with her obvious lack of training.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese wished she could give them all gift baskets.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still everything was going perfect. Syd has given them the third act- finally. They could put together the final scene with no delays.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Candace was on a bed. Her orange hair was a wild mess. The monster head was gone. She was just a normal pretty princess.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Candace, this is your beauty shot.” Phineas explained in a calm voice. “The curse has been lifted, and you are no longer a monster. Now this scene is what the heart wants, but the mind can’t have. Take one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He walked off set. Ginger started filming.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“‘To dream... To be free of the curse’.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Candace recited, tiredly as everything from the day was starting to get to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beautiful. Keep going.” Phineas encouraged. He grabbed a megaphone. “Cue the magical girly dust!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb started tilting a box of fake fairy dust over Candace. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Whether ’tis nobler to be loved…’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>Achoo!” Candace sneezed. The box of dust was dropped into her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cue wind machine!” Phineas instructed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese rushed over, flipping the switch. The giant fan activated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Candace was blown by the fan. The strength had her gripping the bed rails to keep from flying away. Good thing they bolted down the bed. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>‘TO BE CURSED... BY LOVE…’</span>
  </em>
  <span> PHINEAS, MAKE IT STOP!” Candace shouted over the roar of the fan. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“CUT THE WIND MACHINE!” Phineas instructed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese flipped the switch again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Candace flopped down on the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Drop the flower petals!” Phineas instructed. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Whether ’tis no-”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese winced. She forgot to take the kitchen supplies away from Ferb. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wrong prop. What the heck. Let’s keep it!” Phineas cheered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It won’t make sense cause we said the leader of planet plumbing supplies died in the attack.” Reese reminded him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah. Better reshoot then.” Phineas agreed. “You hear that, Ferb?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb held up a thumb.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They did a quick reshot with rose petals falling on Candace. She still stuttered through her lines but it was better than before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a relief to Reese to hear Phineas finally about “Okay people, that’s a wrap!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reese wasn’t on the cutting room floor. She was responsible for cleanup. Luckily for the team, they wanted to seel the spiders for props in other movies. Reese accepted the deal, with the stipulation if they wanted more they had to work with her. She knew a good buisness opportunity when she saw one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The movie was finished before 4 o’clock. They had a movie theatre full of teenagers as a screen audience. Reese knew that was gonna fall through- thanks Doofenshimirtz- so she made sure to have a copy of the finished product in another location so they could upload that to their website too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another great chance to increase the brand. Besides, she couldn’t give the actors gift baskets before they went out of town. This was the best she could manage.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reese was sitting with her snake, watching </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Curse of the Princess Monster</span>
  </em>
  <span> from her laptop. The reviews were coming in. People loved it. Luckily all the other actors spread info out to their fans, so everyone was coming to the site to look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pet her snake in pride. “I know you can’t hear me, but I’m really proud of today. The movie came out better than expected too! Ferb did a great job with effects.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Salazara hissed in reply. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Candace was </span>
  <em>
    <span>alright</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Reese replied. “I don’t like how her Ferb chase scene worked out on film. It could’ve gone better but...minor complaint.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her snake hizzed, sliding down from her owner. Reese scoffed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You just don’t like the truth.” Reese snarked. Then she smiled. She had no idea what the snake was saying, just hoping it was entertaining. Even secret agents deserved a good laugh after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Agent Long S couldn’t tell her owner that she enjoyed it. Thankfully, she didn’t need to. Reese understood her well enough.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. She's Fine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Reese was not one to complain about a good fight. But given that this episode strictly forbade fighting in a way that would be impressionable on any young viewer, Reese could not train anybody to kick butt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lucky for Reese that she didn’t have to!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Mr Holyfield.” Buford told the world heavyweight boxing champion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was aware that he was too old to be a professional boxer. Not that he cared.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. Wouldn’t have been real without you.” Phineas praised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Happy to help you boys find a slightly less violent way to settle your differences.” Evander bid them farewell.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese waved him off. Perry the Platypus came back with a chatter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There you are, Perry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>ding</span>
  </em>
  <span> from behind. Reese turned, seeing her Easy-Make oven light blinking. Yes Easy-Make, not Bake. Apparently Phineas &amp; Ferb fell into the category of </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘not allowed to name this beloved children’s toy, but here’s a fake name so close to the real thing that you just know what we’re trying to talk about</span>
  </em>
  <span>’ in kid’s programming.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese didn’t mind. As long as there was a tiny oven, she could handle it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pulled the tray of food out from the oven. After a quick check, she held them out for the other kids.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey cool!” Phones grabbed one of the cookies. This one had been made to look exactly like his head. Reese had some fun coloring the dough.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Buford took one shaped like his head. He took a bite. “Not bad, blondie.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese narrowed her eyes at him. She let the insult slide- for now. He would have hell to pay if he tried it again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See?!” Candace screeched.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone turned back towards her. She was at the door to the mall. By her side was Linda. The red headed mother of three was staring at the parking lot of the mall with her usual </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I don’t know what Candace expects me to see here’</span>
  </em>
  <span> face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi, Mom!” Phineas greeted. Ferb waved too, grabbing a cookie shaped like Buford’s head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi, boys!” Linda replied. “If you’ll excuse me, Candace, I’m gonna get back for the second set.” She turned tail, headed back inside the mall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese didn’t care. She was handing out cookies. Besides these, there were a lot she’d made during the lead up to the fight. They had sold as well as all the other merch. Pity they couldn’t be used for Candace’s campaign to get her brothers busted.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Dinnerbell, that was the best battle ever. Same thing tomorrow?” Buford asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nah. I like to keep moving forward.” Phineas replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sharks have to continue to move forward, or they’ll drown.” Ferb informed them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Buford glared. “You calling me a shark?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese lifted the now empty tray of cookies over Buford’s head. Ferb moved faster, pinching Buford on the neck. The bully fell into a dead faint. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fer-rb?!” Phineas scolded, laughing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> all up on my face.” Ferb excused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese lowered her tray. She smiled at Ferb. “Ooh, two lines today.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know.” Phineas laughed. He clapped his brother on the back. Ferb held up a thumb. When Phineas copied the action with his still red thumb, everyone laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Except Buford, who was only murmuring as he woke back up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She’d had Salazara for a week. In that week, Reese had done a lot. Taking care of snakes were turning out easier than she thought. Reese expected a lot more upkeep. According to her research, once a week she should clean Zara’s tank.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The tank was brought down to ground level, giving Reese more ease to clean it. She pulled Zara out from the tank, draping the cobra over her shoulders. Once Zara was comfortable, Reese pulled out everything else from the tank.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese started cleaning out the tank until it sparkled. Zara watched quietly. There was a radio on in the background. Though this was a Disney universe, and so Radio Disney wasn’t a thing, Reese had still managed to find a radio station close enough to it that she didn’t mind listening.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There wasn’t much in clean-up. Reese was glad for that. Nothing in this cage was anything worse than cleaning up after Flynn-Fletcher’s escapades. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese wanted to compare her snake to a cat, given how easily and happily the snake was resting while Reese did all the work. Even when Reese was putting newspaper into Zara’s cage, she was relaxing on Reese’s neck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It made the little blonde girl laugh. “You’re just happy someone else is doing your chores.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The cobra said nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese didn’t mind. She went about finishing up the rest of the cleanup. There was replacing the small little branch for Zara to slither on. She would wait until putting the tank back up on the dresser before turning the heat lamp back on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All in all, it took an hour for it to be cleaned to Reese’s standards. The tank was back on it’s usual spot, the heat lamp placed back so to keep Zara warm. She set up the radio to play louder, placing it by the tank so Zara could feel the vibrations. She left some food in the tank for Zara to hunt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With the snake’s dinner handled, Reese had to get her own together. The Easy-Make oven didn’t really have the option to make the food Reese liked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mr Martin was in the kitchen. Reese tensed, pretending that she hadn’t tensed to not catch his attention. She calmly walked to the pantry. Without making a sound, she grabbed a Ramen noodle packet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese was spotted trying to grab a bowl.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey. You.” Mr Martin called on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese hid her wince. She turned around to face the man. “Yes Dad?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re going out of town tomorrow.” Mr Martin explained. Reese blinked in surprise. “Your grandparents want to see you, apparently.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh, crap. Reese hated meeting grandparents in any reality. They always wanted to talk to her. She could understand the why of it. That didn’t make talking to them any easier. “So I should pack?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll be there overnight, so yes.” Mr Martin told her. Reese noted how he said she would be there, not him. “Get to packing. We’re heading out at sunrise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes sir.” Reese didn’t even point out she needed to eat first. She could eat later, with the extra cookies she had from the fight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mr Martin huffed under his breath. “Hey. Don’t bring the snake. Your grandma is scared of them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese paused in her step. “...Dad?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do it!” He scolded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese continued walking, her pace slow so not to imply she was scared. She made it back to her bedroom. Not even the fact that Zara had unhinged her jaw to eat her food gave Reese pause.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She would be fine. She would be fine. Everything was going to be fine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese walked up to Zara’s tank. She pressed her back against the dresser, sinking herself to the ground. She let out a long breath, curling her knees to her chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was fine. She was fine. She couldn’t be anything else but fine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She went to bed hours later with a stomach full of cookies, and a cobra standing guard over her. All the while, Reese’s mantra echoed in her head.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Zara's Day Out</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Having a roommate wasn’t something Zara thought she would ever deal with. Roommates weren’t great, even during her time at OWCA Pet Store, or in training. Even when she and her nestmates were together, they all kept to themselves. Everyone split up after hatching. Zara was okay with that. She was a solitary creature, perfectly willing to keep going without anyone else.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was taken in by OWCA before long. Zara couldn’t remember exactly how long it was between hatching and being recruited, she had been so young. Training had been easy too, Zara just had to be careful with her bite. The wrong move would take out an agent. Because of that possibility, Zara was left alone from everyone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She figured when she was assigned a nemesis, she would be left alone in a sideroom at her new owner’s house. Zara had grown up in a way that was isolated, distant from so many others. The idea of being close to someone hadn’t occurred to her. Not many people wanted a snake, much less to sleep in the same room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese Martin was apparently used to sleeping in the same space as something dangerous. Or worse, sleeping beside Zara made her feel safe.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara was woken up by the tiny human. Usually, Zara pretended to sleep in. The heat lamp was always great in the morning, perfectly for slowly waking up. Besides, she wouldn’t be called in for work until 8. Schedules were really important to her day-to-day agent stuff.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese ran her hand down Zara’s back. The cobra hissed, curling tighter on Reese’s arm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well I would go see the boys...but they’re going out to Mt Rushmore for Candace’s birthday.” Reese explained, adding signs. She had gotten good at signing what she spoke. “They would’ve left by now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“REESE!” Mr Martin called out. Not that Zara could hear it, obviously. There was a small vibration in the air that she felt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese glared towards the door. Zara wondered if the child would actually snap back this time. Instead, the girl took a long calming breath. She braced herself, squaring back her shoulders into a position of calm Zara had only seen from adults twice her age. The girl carefully unwrapped Zara from her arm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With her snake taken down, Reese moved the top back on the cage. She left it open. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>‘So you can come and go’</span>
  </em>
  <span> Reese signed to her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Pretty sure you’re the reason we don’t have rats anymore. Bye Z.’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The human girl grabbed her suitcase, walking out the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara watched her go with only the softest hiss goodbye.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zara didn’t get why Major Monogram had such trouble with the tech. Carl usually sent her the report on a communicator anyway. Whatever Monogram never managed to give in the report, Carl sent over on her comm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good morning Agent Long S.” Monogram greeted. Zara stared at the major. “There’s been- Carl, are you sure she can hear me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara could feel the reply, though not what that reply was. She assumed it was a confirmation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It doesn’t feel like she can hear me.” Monogram countered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara hissed, impatient.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Monogram jumped back. “Right! There’s been suspicious behavior with Daisy Mason. She’s bought all the bells and whistles...no literally, she’s bought all of them in Danville. Go find out what she’s planning, and put a stop to it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a nod, Zara slid off her chair then off towards the exit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Carl. Carl I don’t know if she heard.” Monogram explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She knows her mission, sir.” Carl replied.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Daisy Mason was the head of a CEO of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Company for Ash</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Zara didn’t really understand it. They made a lot of gemstones, or something. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They usually fought in Mason’s office. The room was usually cast in soft blues and grays. Or Zara assumed. She was colorblind. She could see some of the blues though. And usually, she could see Mason. It worked out for Zara’s work schedule.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara slid into the CEO’s office. A trap fell over her head. She hissed. Another lobster trap, really? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mason sneered when she walked into Zara’s line of sight. Mason was a tall woman, though it’s hard to say if that was genetics or her three inch heels. Her hair was a dark grey bun behind her head. She was heavyset, wearing old yet fabulous clothes that were form fitting. She seemed to be going with her usual gray upper shirt, and her darker grey skirt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Or maybe it wasn’t grey? Zara had trouble with that part of her reports. She could recall one report saying her hair was actually brown. Right. Brown. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Agent Salazara the Cobra. I see you arrived one minute early to our appointment.” Mason complained. Zara glared. “You know how important my schedule is, Salazara. Now I have to rework my whole day around this.” Mason pulled out a day planner, grabbing a pen from her desk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara let out a sigh. It sounded like a hiss, like it always sounded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a minute of silence. Mason stood back up, lowering her pen and day planner on the ground. “Okay...okay...all caught up again. Now.” She turned to the lobster cage where the cobra was impatiently waiting. “Were you sent the memo about our meeting today?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara could only nod. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good, good. So you know that I had my underlings purchase all the bells and whistles in town.” Mason explained. “You see, we’re trying to sell a new product. Sales are...not as great as I would like.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The cobra wanted to fast forward this conversation. Unfortunately, she could not. Even though she’d heard this line of dialogue before. Every. Single. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Time.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then I came up with a revolutionary idea! A revolutionary idea for a revolutionary product!” Mason walked over to a box she tucked into the middle of the room. She pulled off the tarp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The tarp revealed a set of vests. The vests were covered in all the purchased items. They were noisy, each turn making Zara feel the shaking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I call these the-” Mason turned around. “Oh right, you can hear me. I have to face you. I’ll start again.” She cleared her throat. She raised the bell vest up high. “I call these: Pavlov Handlers! I will have my underlings where these, then go out into the world praising my product! Before long, people will begin associating the sounds with my amazing product! Just like the original Pavlov!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara rolled her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The CEO dropped the vest back into the box. She walked up to Zara’s lobster cage, smiling wide. She checked her watch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s time! I can show you what my product is!” Mason rushed over to another box, right behind the first box. She pulled off another tarp, pulling out a smaller box. “Here we have it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was...it was literally just a shoe. One that smelled like moldy cheese. But it was covered with emeralds. Like, big emeralds on the toe of the shoe. Smaller emeralds trailed from the gem to the heel of the shoe.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I called them ‘Emerald Heels!” Mason explained in cheer. She hugged the shoe to her chest. “I don’t understand why people don’t like it.” She cooed over the shoe, cradling to it like it was a small child. “You’re precious. Yes you are, yes you are.” Her watch beeped. “Cooing time over.” She put the shoe back in it’s box. “Now I have to get my underlings together. Oh I can’t...they’re having company-ordered break time right now. Well we’ll just have to wait!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara took the tip of her tail. She plucked off her hat, searching for something to get her out of the cage. She’d used a laser pointer last time, and she’d forgotten to recharge it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ten minutes later, Zara found a way out of the cage.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a small boomerang in her hat. She pulled it out, throwing it through the holes in the cage. The boomerang zoomed around the room before hitting the rope holding the cage together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mason yelped. “Ah! You escaped twenty seconds too early! My schedule- it’s ruined!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara hopped out of the cage. She rushed over to the box of vests. Using her body, she made a quick whiplash against the side of the box. The box was shoved through a window in Mason’s office. The box was shoved out the window, falling down onto the streets below.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No!” Mason shrieked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara ignored the shrieking. She attacked the next box, smashing it with her tail. The box exploded, sending shoes everywhere. One hit Daisy Mason right in the face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mason pulled the shoe off her nose. “Oh. Now I see why people won’t buy it. Until our next meeting, Agent Salazara the Cobra!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She rolled her eyes again, slithering away from the business the way she’d come.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She came home at her usual time. She settled herself in her and Reese’s room. For a long while, Zara waited. To her disappointment, Reese never came home.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Right.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She went somewhere else today.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara had the room to herself, just like she’d always wanted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>...huh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Much lonelier than she expected...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t until that night around 7 did Zara smell someone else come in the house. She slithered to the bedroom door, sneaking out to see who it was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mr Martin was home. He tilted back a can to pour it’s contents into his mouth. Whatever was in there smelled foul. It was a familiar scent. Zara had seen it labelled as ‘beer’. Whenever he drank it, his speech became more slurred. Zara found it harder to read his lips but it wasn’t impossible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Finally. Some peace and quiet in my own house.” Mr Martin noted, staggering over towards the living room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara had to move fast to catch his words. She kept herself out of his sight. Something easy in the darkened light of the house, and his already inebriated state. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stupid kid...why the hell do I gotta watch her, it’s not my job to do that. Her mother wanted the whole year. But the first holiday, all a sudden </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>gotta watch</span>
  <em>
    <span> her</span>
  </em>
  <span> brat?” Mr Martin grabbed another can. He popped it open, quickly taking a large gulp. “Unbelievable.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yes. Unbelievable indeed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara wanted to hiss. She wanted to use her bite on this man. It was only her training that kept her from lashing out. Though it sounded as Reese had another home to live in, Zara would much prefer that house for her to this one.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But...but Zara didn’t want to be alone in this house. Not without Reese.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This was late- sorry. I was celebrating a birthday yesterday, and forgot to publish this chapter. I wanted to give Zara her own little arc too. There wasn’t anything I could think to do for Candace Loses Her Head, so we get Zara’s work day. Hope y’all like it.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Run Away Runway</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After the intense investigation yesterday, Reese came to a firm conclusion: she didn’t like Grandpa and Grandma Martin. They were too overly affectionate, demanding that Reese stay around not just one but two days. She had missed the robots! That wasn’t fair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d wanted to see robots.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Robots were like...her thing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This hurt to not be involved.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Worse yet was that they wouldn’t leave her alone. Two whole days of constant attention from the elder Martins. Reese had wanted to take advantage of this mini-vacation to work out some numbers for Phineas and Ferb. There weren’t many numbers that needed the attention, she still wanted to work on them to keep them from becoming a big mess.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was back home with Zara though. She wanted to believe the cobra was happy to see her, that may be willful imagination. The cobra noticed someone in her space. That was all. Reese didn’t expect much more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the cobra wrapped around her arm, Reese thought it was just for the warmth of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Zara tried to come with Reese by sneaking in her bag, Reese thought the snake wanted the frozen rats she kept inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It never came to Reese that maybe the others genuinely liked spending time with her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why would it?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The day had gone much better afterward. Reese had no eye for fashion. In the cartoon world, she wore the same green tank top and jeans. In the other worlds, the live action ones, she tended to keep her clothes simple. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So she was relieved that the day’s events went by before lunch time. She was happy to see </span>
  <em>
    <span>Forever Summer</span>
  </em>
  <span> line come to a close. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Face it, </span>
  <em>
    <span>mon ami</span>
  </em>
  <span>, your designs are 3 minutes and 37 seconds ago.” Gaston Le Mode told them, shedding his latest outfit for the pharmacist outfit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, well. We had a great time.” Phineas cheered. He blinked. “Hey, Gaston? What's with the new outfit?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you kidding? No one’s claiming </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>look yet!” Gaston Le Mode explained. “I have to get out in front of this thing and take credit for it all. That’s how you stay in business, kid. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Au revoir</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, Phineas, I still like your style.” Isabella praised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.” Phineas replied. “What’d you think, Reese?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese shrugged. “I thought they looked cool.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas grinned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Mom!” Phineas greeted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Linda smiled at the group of children. Candace open mouthed gawked at them all. “Oh, look. We’re all here. Why don’t we get some lunch?” She started walking from the fashion runway. “I think there’s a pizza place right over there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kids all cheered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A platypus chittered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, there you are, Perry.” Phineas cheered. He picked up the platypus, brushing the blue fur on his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, go ahead. Eat all you want.” Candace snapped. “My dreams are smashed to pieces, and all you can think of is food! Well, just remember, Gaston said I’ll always be his </span>
  <em>
    <span>Cou de Crayon</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” She reminded them all, proud of the little nickname.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You do realize that that’s French for </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Pencil Neck’</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Ferb informed her. Candace blinked, her dreams pulled out from under her feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reese came back to the Martin house still scribbling in a notebook. She was trying to remember the order of the episodes after this one. Of course, she wrote it all in code. That was just her paranoia talking. 70 years of being something non-human built up a healthy sense of paranoia about humans.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And snakes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was plenty paranoid around something that always followed her around the room with it’s eyes. As she scribbled the code out on her notebook, tension in her shoulders eased. When Reese had finished, she closed her notebook and tucked it away into her Bag. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She curled up on her bed, pretending she was in complete solitude. The afternoon had just begun, really. There was still some warm summer air from the afternoon sun peeking in from the clouds. Reese had just wanted an afternoon of doing </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>It...it felt good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sometimes Reese spent so much time working she forgot that she could spend time doing nothing. That she didn’t have to be moving all the time, it was alright for her to relax. The concept itself was bizarre. Reese didn’t settle into it easily. Relaxing wasn’t really in her nature. She had to move. She had to always be working towards something. Not doing that...felt wrong.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But this...this didn’t feel wrong. She was pleasantly surprised at it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her cobra slithered up to her side. Reese let herself just breath as Zara came to rest. Reese brought her hand to the scales, brushing on them. Zara settled into the touches.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese hummed. She sang a little song, probably one she heard on the radio. Zara cuddled to her, feeling the vibrations in the air. Reese sighed, actually relaxed for a moment. She moved them about so Zara could read her lips. Zara draped herself on Reese’s leg, her head rested on Reese’s knee so she could watch Reese.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We made a cold fusion thing today. That was fun.” Reese reported. She had some trouble signing ‘cold fusion’, she had to go on the fly with the words </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘cold’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘mix’</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “We did it after pizza. Phineas said something about wanting to do it before tomorrow, and I get it. Nobody wants a cold fusion chamber just chilling around their house...yeah that was a pun. That’s fine, don’t laugh. I know you liked it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zara softly hissed. Reese snorted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was that a laugh for you?” Reese asked, laughing too. “I can’t- it’s just too cute. You’re too adorable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cobra hissed, louder and with a threatening vibe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese laughed again. She brushed her finger down the cobra’s back. Zara shivered, settling back down. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. The Magnificent Few</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Reese was awakened by her alarm clock. This wasn’t out of the norm. Being woken by your alarm clock was how things were supposed to go. However, there was a problem with that on this day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You see, Reese did not often wake to her alarm clock. She usually started her day at sunrise. She practiced her training, exercising. The alarm clock was more to tell her when to stop training.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She slept in today. Now everything was thrown out of whack. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese groaned. She looked over towards her snake, who was just getting up from the alarm. Some mornings, Reese wondered if the alarm was for her sake or for the snake’s.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Great- now I have to rush.” Reese complained. She took a calming breath before getting to work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She rushed about the room, changing out from her pajamas into her usual clothes. She gave her hair a quick brush. She debated just pulling the thing back into a ponytail but decided against it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her cobra came out of the bed. Reese barely noted it as she pulled out a travel toothbrush and toothpaste from her Bag. Reese hummed as the snake bopped her nose on Reese’s ankle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t have time to play, Zara.” Reese explained. She knelt down to put on her shoes. The cobra hissed. “There’s a carnival today, which means I have to book it down there to make it in time for- for whatever they have today.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The snake curled around Reese in argument. Reese huffed, her head falling back so she could groan to the heavens.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine, I’ll stay for food. Happy?” Reese conceded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The snake stayed where she was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese rolled her eyes. She limped out of her room. The cobra was dragged behind her, her long tail leaving a trail. Reese still got herself together for some breakfast. Her snake let out a satisfied hiss.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The carnival looked really fun. Reese had managed to do some fun stuff before the day’s events began. She did the ring toss! Unbelievably, Reese won a second row toy. The giant purple octopus/bear toy was tied by the arms around her neck. Her other victories- the games ball toss and balloon darts- had given her bottom row gifts. They were tucked back into her Bag. They were less fun to wear as a cape.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She skipped up to the pony show. She crossed paths with Isabella, giving the Fireside Girl a big smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Reese.” Isabella greeted. “Whatcha doin’?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese pointed with her thumb to the toy on her back. “Winning stuff. I’m naming it Jerry.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cool.” Isabella praised. “I was milking cows for my milking badge.” She held up the big blue badge.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s so cool!” Reese cheered. “Do you know where the boys are at? I saw them earlier, but I lost them in the crowd.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Isabella looked ahead, squinting into the distance. “I think I see them this way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two girls walked over to the horse pen. Phineas and Ferb were climbing out. Neither of them looked too excited to be leaving their latest companions. The redhead boy smiled wide when he saw his friends though. If there was any sort of facial tic on Ferb’s face, Reese couldn’t see it from where she was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Isabella. Hey, Reese. What are you doing here?” Phineas asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I won the carnival booth games!” Reese showed off her makeshift cape. “This is Jerry, he came from the ring toss.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just earned my milking badge, and it was so easy. All you do is squeeze and pull and squeeze and pull and squeeze and pull and squeeze and pull, and- so, whatcha doin’?” Isabella asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re riding ponies-” Phineas switched to a classic cowboy accent. “-but it makes a feller hanker for the real thing. You know, livin’ out on the open range. Ridin’, ropin’, brandin’. Bustin’ broncos and breakin’ wind with your amigos under the western skies.” He turned to his brother, excited enough to drop the cowboy twang. “Heck, we could even ford a stream! I don’t even know what that means, but it sounds fun!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ferb spit on the ground. It came with the added cartoon effect. Reese was not surprised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, and spitting. Hey, where’s Perry?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Termites.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Termites happened next.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese always knew bugs were the source of her struggles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Doofenshmirtz controlled termites ate the fences around the carnival. Particularly the animal fences. The cows were the first animals released into the world. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow, a stampeding herd of cattle.” Phineas mused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re headed straight for town! We gotta do something!” Isabella cried out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All we need are a couple of horses and we could-” Phineas began. He was stopped when the termites moved to the horse pens. The two horses that the brothers rode earlier were freed. “Huh. Let’s go!” He and Ferb ran to their horses, putting their cowboy hats back on. “Let’s round us up some cows! Come on, Isabella! Yee-haw!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Isabella and Reese searched for horses to ride. They spotted them in the distance, released by the termites. “Ooh.” They cooed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Isabella had noticed a tiny pony, wearing a rein covered in hearts and a bright pink saddle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese saw a horse so cool and rebellious that it didn’t even have a saddle! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Isabella went to her pony, excited and cheering as she climbed on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese ran to the stallion. His coat was dark black, and he had rage in his eyes like a thousand thunderstorms. There had been a sign in front of his fenced-in home, warning that he was a danger-danger-danger with three exclamation points, so you should take it seriously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unfortunately, that sign had been made of wood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even if Reese had seen the warning sign, she would’ve ignored it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The horse was not excited about a little human girl approaching him. He had wanted to enjoy his freedom, to be free in the wild once again. This child was blocking his path!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese held up a carrot from her Bag.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This child could be trusted with his life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese grinned. She pulled out a saddle from her Bag- she liked being prepared, sue her. Once she was seated, she fed the horse the carrot. As he chewed, she scratched the horse’s neck. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Together, the four kids went off on their ponies to herd some cows. Much to Candace’s annoyance.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Reese decided his name was Spirit. He’d earned it. She rode with the crowd, doing her best to herd cows. Can she change the phrase from herding cats to herding cows? Cause this was hard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cats could be guided with a laser pointer. Or a fake rat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cows had to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>yelled at</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was so much more work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In their defense, that could be because there were only four kids against a whole barn full of cows. Maybe that’s why this was so hard. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Reese had Spirit on her side. There was a chance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All four of them ended up in the local mall to chase out these cows. Reese and Spirit had chased them into a bookstore at one point. If Reese accidentally stole some books, it was because a handful of cows had chewed on them. They would’ve been thrown out anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese could hear Phineas singing in the distance. She did her best to point Spirit that way. It was hard to get the horse to do much. To Reese, it felt like everything she was telling the horse to do was what the horse wanted to be doing regardless. His wants were paired with her’s for the time being.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was no reason to counter that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t command the stallion’s moves. She gave very firm suggestions. Spirit fought her at times, usually giving in as long as Reese gave him times to run wild. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But they could both agree on this:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They would stop running to have lunch. Conveniently, all the cows and the rest of the cowboys stopped to eat too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There weren’t many words spoken between the two. They weren’t needed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The four of them were riding alongside each other. Reese had just worked with Spirit to loop in the last few straggler cows. She blamed those cows on Candace.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep, just a-lopin’ them doggies down the long, lonesome trail. Ain’t this livin?” Phineas asked, still using his cowboy twang.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Boy, howdy!” Isabella cheered, copying his twang.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yippee kay yay!” Reese shouted. She waved her cowboy hat in the air, just for the heck of it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yet as they guided the cows along the many roads of Danville, it was clear that these cows didn’t want to move where they were going. The traffic of the highway was rising again. Too many loud car horns had the cows spooked. They rushed out from the controlled grouping by Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, and Reese.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Spirit was starting to get shaken by the loud noises. Reese brushed on his neck, whispering calmingly into his ear. The stallion neighed in agitation. Reese had a snake for a pet, and lived with Mr Martin. She was a 71 year old who worked a lot in law enforcement. She made it a point to learn how to deescalate a situation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She let her hand rest on the stallion’s neck, leaning so her tiny body rested against him. She leveled out her breathing. The stallion was huffing, tossing his head about in stress. Reese kept her breathing slow. Her heart rate was kept calming as well. Thankfully fast, Spirit calmed down quick enough. Mission accomplished, Reese continued the chase.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re headed for a cliff!” Isabella warned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese pulled her stallion to a halt. Spirit listened. Together, they watched the cows stop just before falling over the steep cliff.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ferb, strum something! It’ll calm them down!” Phineas instructed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ferb tried. His guitar barely got a note out before a string broke.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not good.” Reese mused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope.” Phineas agreed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Down below, the cows yelled and screamed as they ran down off the cliff. Reese sighed. Disappointed, but not surprised. She gave Ferb a packet of guitar strings for later. He gave her a curt nod in reply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All at once, the four cowboys leapt off the cliff. The three speakers shouted cowboy phrases as they did so.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese laughed in delight when the fall was broken by a waterslide. Ah, the world of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Phineas &amp; Ferb.</span>
  </em>
  <span> You really couldn’t make this stuff up. The cows were enjoying it too. They performed interpretive dances at the bottom of the waterslides. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yo, cows. Uh, hyah.” Phineas prompted them. The cows, realizing that they should be on the move, obeyed with embarrassed expressions. “Hey, Ferb. We’re fording a stream.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese brushed on Spirit’s neck. “Good boy.” She praised him, hugging him for added benefit.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The cows were all returned to the carnival. Seeing as all the pens were eaten by termites, they had no place to put them. The cowboys ended up moving them into a suddenly appearing makeshift fence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese noted Doofenshmirtz being chased by termites on the rollercoaster. She saw no reason to tell anyone else about it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, this has been fun, but we ought to be getting the herd back into a coral. Where can we find a coral?” Phineas wondered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The rollercoaster collapsed. It was such a perfect fit to the makeshift coral that happened to have formed around the cows.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, that was easy.” Phineas cheered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Happy with a job well done, the four cowboys climbed off their respective horses. Reese untied Jerry from her shoulders as she took back her saddle from Spirit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She replaced the reins with Jerry. She held the stallion’s cheek.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go now, be free!” She instructed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The stallion nodded. Reese waved the horse off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh. That was so awesome.” Phineas cheered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woo-hoo!” Isabella agreed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Linda walked up to the kids. The ones she believed just had an innocent afternoon at a carnival. “Hey, kids. Did you guys have fun?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yee-haw!” Phineas waved his cowboy hat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yo, doggie!” Isabella agreed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woohoo!” Reese spun around in place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good.” Linda cheered. Her eldest child walked to the car, looking like she’d been hit by cacti, scorpions, and snakes. Oh also mud. “Candace! Are you okay, sweetie?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>don’t want to talk about it.” Candace warned, climbing into the car.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All right. Get in the car, snappy pants.” Linda replied. She smiled at her less problematic boys. Or at least the ones she thought were less problematic. They’d just led a stampede through town. Candace would be brushing out cactus spines from her hair for a week. “What was that about?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I reckon herding cattle ain’t for city folk.” Ferb explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese was snickering all the way back home. If she heard a happy horse calling out as he ran into the sunset, then that was just her secret joy.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry this took so long to write. It’s 85 degrees in my town, and the heat is slowly killing me. I’m happy to be writing about the cold in S’Winter tomorrow. Like...so much happier.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. S'Winter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Danville summers usually stayed the same, weather wise. The days weren’t so different from the day before. The sun would rise around 6 am. Then beat down on the people for 74 degrees until sunset. Some days would have clouds, providing brief shade. Breezes would happen often too to help people. You could fool yourself into thinking it was maybe just a warm spring day, instead of a day of June.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Today was not one of those days. Today was HOT. Capitalized. Italicized. All the emphasis one can give. Sometimes they spell the words with lines between each letter. Can it be put in bold? It’s in bold now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese was musing this to herself while she took the coldest shower possible. She didn’t</span>
  <em>
    <span> like </span>
  </em>
  <span>how hot today was. Perhaps she had a prior bias, given that she knew how the day would play out. Maybe she’d been in summer for almost two weeks now and really didn’t like it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Whatever. It’s too hot to think about things like that. Today was hot for reasons that didn’t make sense. Or logic. Yep: today made no logic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese once built a spaceship from scratch. She was second in her class from Harvard. She had walked the halls of Versailles alongside Queen Victoria.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And she had forgotten how to logic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Why is it so hot today?!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese hated this. In contrast, Salazara was happy. Reese couldn’t get too mad if the snake was-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeah she was mega angry and this needed to be fixed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As she climbed out from the shower, she growled in a cold rage. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had to start S’Winter. It must start </span>
  <em>
    <span>now.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It had only gotten worse. Reese was beginning to build a conspiracy about how the weather was an active force working against her. She knew realities where that was an option. Was it so hard to believe that the powers that be followed her to Danville?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Probably.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese just wanted snow. Anything that got in the way was suspect.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stepped into the Flynn-Fletcher backyard, beaming at the tall pile of snow building. It was easy to see from even a block away. S’Winter was a beautiful thing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Reese!” Phineas came over to where Reese was gawking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese silently pointed at the mountain. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s us combining summer and winter with Dad’s old snow cone machine.” Phineas explained. “And a lot of fans. We’re calling it: S’Winter.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love it.” Reese praised. “What do you need?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can we build from the plot we used for the beach?” Phineas asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. We should still have that permit.” Reese answered. “Should I take down the fence?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’d be great.” Phineas replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese nodded. She walked over to the back fence. They hadn’t taken apart the part that made it easy to fall back. It gave more space for the mountain. It would give more snow to the mountain. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the fence fell down, Isabella walked in. “Hey, Phineas.” She greeted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Isabella.” Phineas greeted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatcha doin’?” Isabella asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re making S’Winter!” Phineas answered happily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“S’Winter?” Isabella asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a unique logic-defying amalgam of Winter and Summer.” Ferb answered. The British boy was working on dumping the finished snow into the mountain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why have snow in the winter when it’s too cold to enjoy it?” Phineas advertised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You guys are gonna need some help.” Isabella gathered the rest of her troop.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese was already thinking about what else they needed. She pulled out her phone, planning all the things for the S’Winter wonderland.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There were horse carriages ready to be booked for this mountain. Also wolves for dog sleds. Reese had managed to get the local donation stores to bring over any winter clothes that had been donated. It helped to get people to come to celebrate S’Winter without having to dig into their attic to grab winter clothes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not that it was incredibly hard to get people to come. Everyone loved the chance to be cold in the summer heat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah! This looks great!” Phineas cheered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese agreed. She had on a new winter outfit. Over her shirt and jeans, she had a dark green overcoat with brownish fur on the edges. She wore thin green gloves. It made her giddy to wear winter clothes while it was actually 70 something degrees in the more summer areas of town.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She took a lot of pictures of S’Winter. More than that, she let herself enjoy it. Anything that would have been on Reese’s radar happened to Candace. Those things were all okay. Reese could just have fun.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And oh, did she have fun.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese ended up singing a duet with Isabella about S’Winter. A duet. With Isabella Garcia-Shapiro. About S’Winter. It was amazing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the end of the song, Reese skated over to the two brothers. They were smiling up at a fuming Candace. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Some people call it ‘Wummer’!” Phineas told Candace.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“S’Winter is cooler.” Reese held up her hand. Phineas slapped it for a high five. Reese skated off, deciding she would ignore Candace’s ire today.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was gonna go skiing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Reese was skiing from the mountain’s dangerous path. Given that it was a cartoon ski path, it wasn’t that bad. It was just asked that only the professionals or pro skiers take to it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese saw this for the challenge that it was. She signed on for part of the challenges that came with the winter sports they were starting: sledding, figure skating, bobsledding, and skiing. Reese would </span>
  <em>
    <span>crush</span>
  </em>
  <span> the competition under her snow boots.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the end of it, she got first place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vannessa Doofenshmirtz got second, but the goth didn’t care. Reese suspected she won because she just happened to cross the finish line as she skied, with no idea she’d actually crossed it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese took pride in her victory all the same. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She cheered for Phineas and Ferb that came first in their sledding. They won with Candace, though it was so unlikely that the redhead teenager signed on for this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese didn’t care. She wanted to make a snowman while there was still time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The mountain melted with little fanfare. Reese was just able to get that snowman in before it melted away. The fans beneath the mountain lost their power. Reese figured if she took them home she could fix them up. She had plans for a generator in her Bag someplace, it would be easy to make it for a couple fans so Reese would have a colder room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ah, a colder room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yep. Reese was sold on it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When everyone was ushered to the Garcia-Shapiro house for hot chocolate, Reese packed away the fans that she could fit through the top of her Bag. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She crossed paths with Vanessa, who was avoiding the party across the street. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” Vanessa asked, giving Reese a side glance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese blinked up at her. “Taking apart this fan so I can use the parts to make a generator.” Reese answered. “What are you doing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vannessa groaned. “Blaming my dad for all my problems.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, girl, respect.” Reese held up her fist. Vanessa gave it a stronger side eye before bumping it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The generator was just starting up when Reese heard a familiar hiss.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese waved over her shoulder to the snake. She waited until the generator was going strong before turning around. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Zara.” Reese greeted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The snake hissed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese proudly showed off the fans. “I made it colder in here!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The snake seemed to be copying a pout. Reese only laughed. She picked up the cobra, letting her warm up on Reese’s shoulders. The cobra seemed to care a lot less about the chill thanks to the warm shoulders.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two moved onto their bed. Reese soaked in the attention from all the fans.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Jerk de Soleil</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Believe it or not, she’d been in a circus before. Her fifties were </span>
  <em>
    <span>weird</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s important to note that she hadn’t been in that circus of her own will. It was a whole thing. Point is: she had experience in circus work. She was excited for the stunts she would get to do!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She still had to go over to the Flynn-Fletcher house. She was excited to hang out with the others, then she was reminded that she had to ask her ‘dad’ for permission. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The past two weeks she’d gathered up some funds. She had hoped she wouldn’t ask anything from Mr Martin. In the end that decision had been taken out from her hands. Linda had reached out to Mr Martin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese wanted to groan until the world ended.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr Martin had come up to Reese as she was making herself some breakfast. She had thought she was getting out of this without talking to him. Reese didn’t think she even needed to, she was old enough to be Martin’s grandmother, she was just magically changed to look twelve. She didn’t need parental permission.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which is why it felt so patronizing and annoying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Apparently you think you’re going to the circus.” Mr Martin noted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To her credit, Reese didn’t jump at the sudden spoken word. She lowered the spoon in her hand. She kept herself quiet before turning to face the man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man resembled her in looks- her same peachy pale skin, same blonde hair, only when Reese got to his eyes did Reese see their difference. The dark blue in his eyes made something in Reese pause. There was something dark in the background there, something poorly exposed that anyone could see if they looked at him. Reese worked hard to keep her own hidden, something you would only see if you searched.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese stood silent. She had her back to the counter, staring at the man in what could only be described as professional curiosity. “You think I’m not going?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” Mr Martin insisted. “How are you gonna pay for it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese briefly considered an easy lie about the Flynn-Fletchers covering the cost. It seemed unlike, besides it could have ramifications in the future. Then again, telling the blatant truth wouldn’t do her much good. She wasn’t yet clear on how Mr Martin would react to Reese having her own source of income. He even complained about Zara’s upkeep by saying he would be the one to pay for her supplies.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They won free tickets on a radio show.” Reese lied evenly. She did a quick mental headcount. “Enough for two chaperones and eight kids.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr Martin narrowed his eyes at her. Reese could tell the excuse was already working. Humans generally wanted to believe what was easier. The idea of winning a contest was easier to believe than Reese came up with the money herself, or that another parent covered the charge. Sure maybe Mr Martin was assuming that- maybe he thought the lie was bogus, which was doubtful- anything was simpler than what he didn’t want.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese could see it all playing out on his face. As a case study, it satisfied a curiosity. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” Mr Martin huffed, walking to a kitchen cupboard. Reese sidestepped around the table while still observing him. “I’ll tell Linda you can go. Whatever. Just get out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese didn’t need to hear it twice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Walking into the Flynn-Fletcher house, she loosened her hold on the Bag. Reese gave herself a moment to exhale. Reese let herself in without waiting to knock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everybody was gathered around the dinner table. Reese was worried for a moment until seeing that Baljeet wasn’t there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, did I miss anything?” She asked anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope, there’s still time.” Phineas assured her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese sat herself down on a stool. She could relax now, she just had to wait until the circus started. She could have a lot of fun with this. There was...there was fun to be had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before long, Baljeet came running in. Reese watched with few comments. Lawrence Fletcher walked in, telling them the circus they were planning to see had been cancelled. Only when the adults walked away did the kids get the idea to make their own circus.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her act had been giving her trouble. While yes, Reese had the plan to use the tightrope for her act there was just...she knew she could add to it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese had wanted to the tightrope. She had training for it, or at least in agility. She could easily manage stunts there. She could do it blindfolded- oh wouldn’t that be fun! A blindfolded tightrope walk...should there be fire? Probably not. Reese didn’t have much experience with fire tricks. Still. Tightrope- a classic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d gotten into a purple/dark pink unitard for her act. She cheated with Edna Mode’s cardinal rule by having yellow streamers hanging from her wrists and ankles. Her hair was done into a lion’s mane style behind her head, complete with pink and orange streaks painted on. Her eyes were given flames done in makeup.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese made sure to tell the brothers about her act. They could get together all the props while Reese made sure word was out about the show. Reese made a little joke that she was practically a juggler too, with all she was doing before the show even started.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The show was going off without a hitch. Well a few hitches but nobody had told them not to include wild parsnips. Reese should’ve remembered that- they weren’t even using nut based oil in the popcorn machine for allergy reasons. Parsnips should’ve been the next thing. Reese made a note of that for other events in the summer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re moments away from Ferb and The Amazing Perry!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese perked up. She went on after Perry, so she got to watch the act. Better yet she got to watch Perry sneak back in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was a spy, but Reese was a classically trained ninja. She was taught by the people who invented sneaking around. Perry thought he was so good at it, it was adorable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Baljeet walked backstage. Reese gave him a brief thumb’s up- a joke. Baljeet made a show of taking off his thumb again to wave it at her. It made Reese laugh. Ah, working with young kids. Always such a laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese was hyping herself up for her act.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s hear it for Baljeet the Stupefying!”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You can do it. You can do it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“But now, prepared to be astounded when The Amazing Semi-aquatic Perry, aided by Ferb-”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s just a tightrope walk. You can manage that. It’ll be great.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“-attempts to jump through that hoop into the Shallow Pond!”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Knock ‘em dead, Martin.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ooh!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The audience’s wild applause had Reese focusing back in. She braced herself, letting her hands slide to her hips in a confident pose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was ready for it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sneaking out from behind the curtains, Reese snuck up the tightrope walk. She made sure to keep out of sight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! Let’s hear it for the Amazing Semi-aquatic Perry!” Phineas announced to the crowd. Reese got into position, leaning over the edge of the platform with her hand holding the tightrope pole. “Now our next act is- wait where did she go?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese whistled out. The spotlight went on her. She waved out at the cheering crowd.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There she is, Reese the Mystifying!” Phineas announced. The crowd cheered louder for the new act. “Watch now as she performs depth defying stunts on the tightrope!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese gave a final wave to the audience before slipping into her role. She started with a run, leaping out onto the tightrope. The tautness of it had her bouncing off. The audience below gasped. Reese grabbed the tightrope as she passed back down, letting herself twirl around the tightrope twice before pulling herself against it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Upside down, she crawled along the tightrope for a stretch. She let go with her hands, letting her feet be the only things holding the rope. She ‘walked’ on the tightrope, waving her arms and the respective streamers at the wild crowd.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ‘jumped’ on the rope. It sent her into the air again, flinging her upright onto the rope. She finished the home stretch by just twirling along it. Her finale was a final jump on the taut string, flinging her onto the tightrope end platform.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The crowd cheered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese was beaming bright, making the bright neon colors of her outfit shine brighter with her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The act had been filmed. Reese was happy with that, she’d been the one to set up a camera. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese curled Zara around her shoulders. The snake was happy for the view. Reese brought out the camera, showing the snake her performance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zara tightened her hold on her human at the more risky stunts. The child had clearly lost her mind, letting go of the tightrope so often. Jumping on it, worse yet. Hanging upside down off it then walking on it like that? Zara wondered if her human knew she was insane.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese pointed at the screen. “See that? That actually upsets me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, so there was hope after-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That streamer got in my hair. You couldn’t even see my face in this shot.” Reese huffed. “Unreal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The snake lost all hope in this human. Hence why she was hugging her human, deciding that Zara would teach Reese how to not do things that could get her killed.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>(Zara didn’t know the best part</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Those were the bits where Reese felt just so alive)</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A reply to a comment made on another site, but was too great not to add elsewhere: yes I also don’t believe that 71 is too hot. Like, it was 85 when I was writing S'Winter. But I did a lot of checking, and the closest place that fits Danville was around this weather in 2010 June. Like...71 sounds downright chilly compared to 85. But the boys complained about heat, so it...must be bad? For Danville?<br/>Look at me- trying to make logic in Phineas &amp; Ferb.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Work For A Living</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Reese liked watching movies.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was her whole thing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her first ever alternate world was a movie.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Monsters Inc. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d shown up beside the torture chamber, with Mike Wazokchi. She’d hit the red monster on the head with a lead pip. She couldn’t remember his name just now, if you hit someone on the head you should remember their name.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anyway, she’d set off a trend of jumping to movie-realities. She loved the work she did behind it. All the research around the films, into the worlds she’d be going into. Sometimes she made an entire working plan, other times she just had to work with what she had. Things got changed, flipped right upside down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sometimes she watched films that were so good that Reese wanted to go to that reality only to experience it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Princess Bride</span>
  </em>
  <span> was such a classic, for example, perfect with all of it’s craziness that Reese would ruin the flow of it instead of fix it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Other films she watched were so bad nothing she did would help. Like...truly terrible films. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Room</span>
  </em>
  <span> was a close exception- but Reese knew she’d never go to that reality. A lot of other ones out there were just...bad. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She would watch those movies just for fun. To laugh at them. She couldn’t go to that reality, but she could</span>
  <em>
    <span> Mystery Science Theatre</span>
  </em>
  <span> the hell out of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was why Reese decided to go see the newly released mummy movie. There were always good reasons to laugh at this kind of classic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This movie was hilarious. Not traditionally hilarious, in fact the makers of the movie might think it was offensive how much comedy Reese was taking from their action thriller.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But just...the fight scenes were so bad. The reasoning for the whole movie was even worse. Like, the archeologist was sent to investigate this pyramid in what was just a cheap copy of Indiana Jones. They probably thought they were subtle, calling him </span>
  <em>
    <span>Montana Nebraska</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh it was just so bad...Reese thought they were hilarious.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“There’s an inscription here. An... an incantation of some sort. ‘Owah Tagu Siam!’”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no, Nebraska, don’t do that.” Reese quietly snickered to herself. She had gotten herself a seat in the far back of the theatre. This way, her quiet comments could be ignored by the bigger groups of people. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The mummy woke up all the same. Reese wanted to smack the idiot. She was also 50% certain those words were from a made up language. She would have to check later...they just sound made up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Worse off was that Nebraska was STILL READING THE HIEROGLYPHS OUT LOUD! Come on, man, you gotta stop that. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“The incantation will make the mummy come to life and obey your commands. Well, beat me with a chicken.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nebraska mused, probably using a ridiculous phrase that the writers thought people still used.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese rolled her eyes to the sky, silently cursing out an Author for this hilarious movie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The mummy pulled a rubber chicken out from...uh...mummy magic? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ow! What?! Ooh! Hey! Stop! It’s an- ow! Hey!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese wasn’t a heartless monster. That was funny. Objectively, that was funny.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Funnier still was the mummy setting off his own booby traps. While yeah that could be seen as something only an idiot would’ve done, it made more sense for the mummy to have done it on purpose to get rid of Montana Nebraska. Honestly, Reese didn’t blame the mummy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah his pyramid was exploding but still. Worth it to get away from the dumb archeologist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese liked this movie.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She curled up on her bed. The powered fans were whirring on her head. Her snake was wandering around the house someplace, Reese saw no reason to distract her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her laptop was set on her bed. Reese watched with the remains of her movie popcorn. She was happy she had a bunch of DVD’s tucked into her bigger-on-the-inside bag. Reese could be entertained. Her palette could be cleansed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then again...the movie she picked had a lot of problems in it. Ones that weren’t as hard to fix as the mummy movie. Reese could picture herself- maybe a teenage version, since a child wouldn’t work here- in it. Already, half formed conversations were coming together in her head. They were piecing together different elements in her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without hesitating, Reese pulled out a lined notebook. She grabbed a pen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was a problem for whenever Reese watched a movie she actually liked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She got ideas...it was very hard to relax when you had ideas burning away in your head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Zara came home from her work day, the movie had long since ended. Reese was still scribbling off the notebook. She was surrounded by colored notecards, written in a code no snake could understand. Or any other human being.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zara even tried to read it. Whatever Reese was writing made no sense. She seemed to be writing in symbols more than actual letters. Zara hissed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese shook her head, startled out of her own head. She blinked at her snake in confusion. “Zara?” She sat up from leaning on her elbows. “When did you get here?” She signed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The snake booped her nose on Reese’s notes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, is something wrong?” Reese picked up a colored note card. “Ah- you’re right. I got this wrong. Maybe a re-watch would he-” Reese stopped herself. She lowered the card down. “...I wrote in- you won’t care about it. This is a me thing, not a you thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The snake tilted her head. Reese smiled fondly at the little note. She tucked it back down on her spread on the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, wanna watch a movie with me?” Reese asked the snake. “Promise I won’t talk a lot. I know people get annoyed when I comment on stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well that answered that for Zara. She moved so she was in her favorite spot on Reese’s shoulders. Reese smiled stiffly, setting up her movie to be played again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The only noise besides the movie was the scribbling of her pen. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Reese Martin: She Just Sits There</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The Planning Process was something Reese enjoyed doing with everything she had. Usually, she spent months or years working on her plans. She researched topics like physics, biology, even minor laws in certain communities to get the answers she needed. She searched the meaning behind every Easter Egg and reference mentioned. If she was working with a laptop, it was a given she had 20 something tabs open.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese loved it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even if it was confusing the hell out of her snake. Reese hadn’t paid much attention to the cobra as she worked. Zara watched until she had to go to work. Reese was covering her notebook with all of those strange letters that Zara had never seen before. Zara had even checked at work, those letters weren’t in a language known to the planet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Granted, there was a chance that Agent Helena the Hog was right and it was an alien language, but Zara had trouble believing an agent that said aliens about </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Reese was a weird kid, she probably just made up the language. Like she and her friends made up all those crazy inventions every day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zara was only so curious about it because Reese used it all over these notecards of her’s. Though the cards were always in varying types of colors, the letters were always the same. Zara wondered if maybe it was a form of shorthand...maybe that was why Zara didn’t understand it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Reese needed no such help. She had been working alone on these things for ages. She could do it. There was no need to go outside today, there was work to be done.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then again- the universe rarely went about the way Reese asked. Her phone rang as Reese was working out the mechanics behind ray guns that reversed aging.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Phineas seemed to have taken her message of whic number to use. Reese picked up the workline phone. “Reese Martin, attorney consultation for hire. What do you need?” She greeted rapidly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uhh- haha, hello there! JB with Har Har Toys! These two rockstars, Phineas and Ferb, said to call you for anything legal.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello there Mr JB.” Reese picked up a note card, scribbling down math equations while glancing to her laptop screen. “What product or service are Phineas and Ferb providing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“They’ve given us the hot new toy of the summer!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> JB replied. Reese quickly opened a 21nd tab to find this new toy. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Perry the Platypus: Inaction Figure! It does nothing. Ha! I have no idea how they came up with it.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have they discussed payment with you already, or is this over another legal matter?” Reese asked, heading to tab #15. She was still working out the math of reverse aging.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“See, I offered to triple their salary-”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As far as I’m aware, Phineas and Ferb aren’t employees under your business.” Reese explained. “This means they are working from a freelance position.” She perched her phone onto her shoulder, leaning back against her pillows as she crunched numbers. “Considering that the toy in question is already being produced, my clients have completed the order. All that’s left on your side is the matter of payment. They have no salary to triple, so you’re offering to pay them money.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“No, see, they’ll be paid in exposure-”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My clients built a roller coaster through downtown at the start of summer, then a beach, wrote the song of the summer, and won a race. They don’t need help in exposure.” Reese countered. JB was silent at that counterpoint. “So I’ll be fair with you. They get their names on any promotional items, in partner with your company as they are the ones putting in more effort I will admit. They will get 50% of all profits made from the toy-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“</span>
  </em>
  <span>50%</span>
  <em>
    <span>?! No way! We’ll give them 20!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“40.” Reese argued.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“20, plus we’ll throw in extra for the idea itself.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The idea belongs to Phineas and Ferb.” Reese countered. “Sorry, but Perry is their actual pet so you can’t claim the idea as your’s.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh that’s a good point. 25! I won’t go any higher than that.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese smiled. She had finally gotten the equation down! Huh, that villain was actually impressive with their maths. Reese put the notecard aside, heading to tab #3 to look at geometric clues again. “Mr JB, pleasure doing business with you. Feel free to email the contract over to Phineas and Ferb for signing. And of course to myself for”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You’ve got guts, kid. I like it!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> JB replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The phone call ended. Reese went about trying to locate an accurate comparison for the town she would be moving to after summer ended.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Reese was happy to stay in all day on this project. Zara hadn’t been able to stay to watch, though she knew instinctively that Reese hadn’t gone from the project at all today. Zara made sure to bring over some food for the child.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reese ate it without a thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeah that child needed help.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. I Scream, You Scream</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Isabella had gone to the hospital. It wasn’t a big deal, like her appendix bursting or getting sick. She had to get her tonsils removed. Reese had never gotten them removed, but she still sympathized with her. Also grateful- Phineas’ other plan for the day wasn’t as fun. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For support, Phineas, Ferb, and Reese came by after the surgery was done. Isabella’s recovery was going fast, according to the doctor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, Isabella, </span>
  <em>
    <span>w</span>
  </em>
  <span>hat’cha dooooin’?” Phineas asked, smiling wide at his use of her catchphrase.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, just recovering.” The proof was in her rasping voice, like she had sung herself hoarse. “But I finally got my tonsillectomy patch.” Isabella showed off the badge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese wondered about the reasoning behind that sort of badge. Why have that when there are so few of their members that would get it? Or was it to make the ones that did go along with the procedure more at ease? Cause yeah, it was a scary surgery but they got a badge out of it! From what little Reese knew of the Fireside Girls, the answer was yes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We just came by to cheer you up.” Phineas explained. “And to see if you’re well enough for our event.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, guys. My throat still hurts like crazy.” Isabella excused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s cool.” Phineas turned to the hallway. “Sorry, gang. We’ve got to postpone the Trojan War reenactment till </span>
  <a href="https://phineasandferb.fandom.com/wiki/Troy_Story">
    <span>further notice</span>
  </a>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The large group of actors they had recruited groaned. They had gotten all dressed up in Trojan War gear too. Reese was grateful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, the best part of getting your tonsils out is that you get to eat all the ice cream you want.” Phineas encouraged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! You can eat gallons of it!” Reese explained. “All the ice cream you want!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We could have the biggest ice cream sundae ever made!” Phineas realized. He turned to his brother. “Ferb, I know what we’re gonna do today! First, we gotta draw up some plans. Wait, no time for that. You go to Blueprint Heaven; Reese and I’ll head home and meet the delivery guy.” Phineas pulled out his phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb nodded. He walked out from the room to complete his job. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Reese, think you could come help?” Phineas asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese nodded. She pulled out her phone, dialing up a local grocer. “I can get the ingredients together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Awesome.” Phineas cheered. His phone beeped. “Hello? Blowtorch City? Yeah, I’ll hold.” He turned to Isabella. “When are they letting you out of this joint?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This afternoon.” Isabella answered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfect, we should have just enough time.” Phineas told her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese’s phone beeped. “Hey, Bobby, you there? Yeah I’m gonna need raw materials for ice cream. Can you hook a sister up?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reese came by with boxes and boxes of ice cream ingredients. There should be enough for the ice cream machine Phineas thought he would make. Even though Reese knew that wasn’t what they were building, these stuff would be great for the handmade stuff they would end up making.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She arrived just as the last of the mechanical parts came in. The ingredients were being pulled behind her in a wagon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And that’s the last of it. Eh, just need you to sign here.” A delivery guy held out a clipboard to Phineas. “Say, aren’t you a little-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“-Young to be using titanium plating and an industrial arc welder? Yes. Yes I am.” Phineas replied. He scribbled out the answer. “I get that a lot.” He handed the clipboard back, noticing Reese with her wagon. “Hey Reese! What’d you got?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ice cream parts.” Reese motioned to the wagon. “Mind if I put these in your kitchen?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go for it.” Phineas invited.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese dragged the wagon past Candace. “Hey Candace.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Candace ignored her. She glowered instead at her brother. “Phineas, you know I’m in charge, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, isn’t that just if a satellite crashes into the-” Phineas began.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, no! When Mom’s at her cooking class, I’m in charge.” Candace argued.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese dragged the wagon through the sliding glass door. She tucked away all the cold stuff into the fridge. There was a surprising amount of room. Reese wondered if that was because Mrs Flynn knew she fed a lot of the neighborhood kids daily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In no time, everything cold was away. Reese ran outside to find Phineas carrying a large stack of boxes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas “Can you give me a hand unpacking this stuff, Candace?” Phineas asked his sister.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not gonna help you. But as soon as I figure out what you’re up to, I’m calling Mom!” Candace yelled. She stormed past Reese.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Say Hi for me!” Phineas called out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Need help?” Reese asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you don’t mind.” Phineas replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese nodded. She reached for another stack of boxes, moving them off each other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The teen growled. “I’m keeping an eye on you.” Candace warned them both.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t both eyes be better?” Reese countered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The teen growled again. Ferb didn’t even acknowledge it as he walked into the backyard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Ferb. You got the blueprints?” Phineas asked. Ferb held up a blue roll of paper. “Excellent! Isabella’s gonna love it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Better hurry, we’re losing daylight!” Reese noted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was something great about being a self-aware cartoon character. As long as the Mouse never found out, you could do what you wanted! That’s how Reese had seen it, anyways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like Reese knew that a song would play every day this summer. The person singing it would either be around the backyard, or way off in Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. Those days were rare. For the most part, Reese didn’t have to worry about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But </span>
  <em>
    <span>Busted </span>
  </em>
  <span>was one of her favorite songs. Even before, when she had been Morgan Spencer with two younger brothers who were really lame, she liked it. Her brothers had too, which almost made </span>
  <em>
    <span>Busted</span>
  </em>
  <span> lame too but Reese just said her good taste was finally rubbing off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So while Reese was helping the boys build a space laser, Reese was humming quietly to the beat she could hear on the summer breeze. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>@</span>
</p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Brightside: the machine was done.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Downside: no ice cream just yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese was leaning on the laser, mindful not to push any buttons. Given it was intended for Doofenshmirtz, the self-destruct button could be anywhere.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas pushed a button on the death-space-laser.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get ready for a giant sundae!” Phineas cheered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only the machine did no such thing. Instead, rockets activated below the machine. It pushed off the ground, heading up into orbit. Reese watched it go, squinting at the sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, this can’t be right. Lemme see those blueprints.” Phineas held out his hands. Ferb slipped them to him. “Oh, wait a minute. Those are the plans for a Space Laser-</span>
  <em>
    <span>inator,</span>
  </em>
  <span> apparently.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good thing we didn’t put in this bit.” Reese patted the machine behind her back. “It must’ve been the laser.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. That could’ve gone bad.” Phineas agreed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb said nothing. But his eyes did go a bit smaller.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Candace rushed into the backyard, her mother in tow. “Mom, Mom! Hurry!! Come on, come on!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, kids. How are you doing?” Linda greeted plainly, everything as she expected it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi Mrs Flynn!” Reese greeted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re just about to make a nice handmade ice cream sundae for Isabella.” Phineas explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that is so sweet!” Linda praised him. Candace watched the proceedings in shock. “Come on in the kitchen. I’ll help you with it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Linda saw a fridge full of ice cream stuff, she didn’t even question it. She wrote it off as splurging a bit on groceries this week.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas turned to Reese. “Do you have a-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Book on how to make ice cream at home?” Reese pulled out a recipe book from her Bag. She had purchased it, don’t fret.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Awesome.” Phineas cheered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The three friends went about making an ice cream.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Isabella happily had another spoonful of ice cream. Reese had made sure to get her favorite- mint chocolate chip. The rest of the ice cream they had all made was in a variety of their favorite flavors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, guys, this is amazing! I was afraid you guys were gonna go overboard and build some giant sundae contraption or something!” Isabella admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, afraid of it?” Reese asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well of you doing it without me.” Isabella corrected. Reese could understand that fear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually, we were gonna build that, but we accidentally built a space laser instead.” Phineas explained. He turned to his brother. “Ferb, you’re usually so focused. How did you get those plans confused?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb looked off into the distance, a thousand yard stare. In his mind he was replaying the meeting of Vanessa Doofenshimirtz, who had walked into the blueprints store instead of her dad. Ferb had no chance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Ferb. Snap out of it. What happened back there?” Phineas asked again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...I was weak.” Ferb explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese couldn’t help it. She snorted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Together, the four friends ate ice cream.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Get That Bigfoot Outa My Face!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Reese was sitting in the row with Candace. It was a much quiet row, compared to all the excited Fireside Girls in the rows behind. Reese was surprised they were able to get a car this big to fit everyone. Then again, </span>
  <em>
    <span>cartoon logic: you never question it</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Besides, she was tuning out any of Candace’s many complaints on the ride over. It made it easy for Reese to get her work complete. Candace left her to her own devices, not willing to talk to one of the little kids.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was surprising still that Reese had managed to come along for the trip. Last time, Mr Martin had made such a big deal about Reese going out for an event that was cancelled anyway. The solution this time was simple. Reese hadn’t told Mr Martin she was leaving. He hadn’t noticed at all the past week, so Reese doubted he would notice today.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, we’re almost there.” Phineas announced to everyone. There was a small cheer. Reese twirled her pen. “What’s the first thing you’re going to do at camp, Buford?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Find a nerd, take his underpants, and run ’em up the flagpole.” Buford answered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think Camp Phineas and Ferb has a flagpole.” Phineas explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then I guess I’ll just find a nerd and take his underpants.” Buford glared over at Baljeet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You may have my underpants. They just got very messy all of a sudden.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, but it ain’t the same if Buford don’t rip ’em off of you.” Buford replied in his usual thick growl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about you, Isabella?” Phineas asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Fireside Girls and I are going to work on our accomplishment patches.” Isabella answered, prompting all the other Fireside Girls to start cheering at the idea of getting more patches.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about you, Reese?” Phineas asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese glanced up. “Oh I’m gonna tell the scariest campfire story.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas grinned at the challenge. “How about you, sis? What’s the first thing you’re gonna do at camp?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“First of all, it’s not camp.” Candace countered. “It’s just Grandma and Grandpa’s cabin, and it’s boring.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But we made T-shirts.” Phineas held up one of the shirts. Reese held up her arm. Phineas tossed it to her over Candace’s head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Secondly, I don’t like the outdoors, okay? I don’t like bugs.” Candace explained. After that, he confusedly searched his seat. “Phineas, are you even listening to me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I seem to have misplaced my ant farm.” Phineas answered. Reese snickered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mom!” Candace called out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Candace?” Linda replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do I have to go to Grandma and Grandpa’s?” Candace asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I think it’s rather sweet that Grandma Betty Jo and Grandpa Clyde invite you kids and all your friends every year.” Lawrence explained in glee.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I’m not a kid. I’m a young adult. Can I do something with you guys?” Candace pleaded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course you can, Dear. You can join us at the antiques symposium. This year’s keynote address will debate Shellac vs. Lacquer.” Linda explained. Lawrence cheered at that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Candace leaned back in her seat. She held up her hand. “I’ll take one of those shirts.” Wordless, Phineas handed her one. Candace sobbed into it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>See? Reese got the good seat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They made it to the cabin. Reese stayed in her seat as everyone climbed out. It made it easier to listen. She listened to the lot of them laughing and joking with Grandpa Clyde and Grandma Betty Jo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese was walking around the woods for the majority of the day. She watched Candace moan and groan about the lack of technology, complaining about everything under the sun. She watched Buford take Baljeet’s underwear, when the nerdy boy least expected it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At one point in the day, Reese asked a Fireside Girl to teach her how to set up her own tent. Reese had done a lot of research going into this, picking out a tent that she had liked best. Whether or not this tent was in her possession through lawful means wasn’t a question best asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tent was nice inside. Reese was reclining on it when Phineas walked by.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Phineas.” Reese greeted. “What’s up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Reese.” Phineas held up a glass of something green. “I’m bringing Candace something to drink. She’s technically a counselor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seriously? How’d you manage that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well you remember the form you sent over yesterday-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh right. You need a minimum of three counselors of age.” Reese nodded. “Candace </span>
  <em>
    <span>would </span>
  </em>
  <span>count.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas grinned. “Which is why I’m going to tell her, over a glass of limeade.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese gave him a thumbs up. “Nice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas walked over to Candace. Reese watched as Phineas handed the drink over to a frustrated Candace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, quiet, you pesky bugs! I am trying to tan here!” Candace shouted at the sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Candace. I thought I’d bring my favorite camp counselor a Phineas special.” Phineas praised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is just a glass of limeade. And I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>a counselor.” Candace argued.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese snorted. Well, can’t say we didn’t tell her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Isabella walked up. “Hey, Phineas. The girls have finished pitching the tents.” She held up a clipboard. “Can you sign here for our Tent Pitching achievement patches?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure thing.” Phineas took the clipboard, pulling a pen from the top. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” Candace questioned, suspicious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, as camp director, I’d say I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Doing my job’</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Phineas replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gather around, kids.” Grandpa Clyde called out. Everyone- minus Candace- stopped what they were doing to gather around the man. “There’s an old legend, well, not that I believe it, about the Sasquatch. A race of giant, hairy creatures living up here in these very woods.” The children gasped in excitement. “If my memory serves, I think there was a song written about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really? Do you remember any of it?” Isabella asked. Grandpa Clyde pulled out a banjo, stringing out a tune.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas grinned. “He remembers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.” Reese stated. “He can’t tell us there’s a song and not sing it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“He’s Bigfoot, he’s Bigfoot, he’ll eat you with his taters and his greens.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Grandpa Clyde sang. He began leading the kids of Camp Phineas and Ferb, walking them through the camp in a fun parade about a scary monster that lived in the woods. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>He’s Bigfoot, he’s Bigfoot, cause to Bigfoot you’re a fleshy tangerine!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no!” One camp cried out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>He goes barefoot, so he’s always free to stomp ya! He carries a big stick so he can whomp ya! Sharpens up his teeth so he can chomp ya! So I think you’d better flee, ’cause I’m telling you that he’s-”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Grandpa Clyde paused to take a large breath. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Bigfoot, he’s Bigfoot, he bathes in the water that you drink!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yuck!” A Fireside Girl dumped out the canteen she’d just filled with lake water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“H</span>
  <em>
    <span>e’s Bigfoot, he’s Bigfoot so watch out, ’cause he’s closer than you think!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Grandpa warned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kids all cheered for him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One more time!” Grandpa Clyde called out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese cheered, singing along happily as Grandpa Clyde played the song over and over again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was nighttime now. Everyone was happily roasting marshmallows. Reese had brought some extra candy for her s’mores. She was just excited for a peanut butter cup s’mores. She didn’t want to get anyone sick from their peanut allergy. Reese cared about those little things: like involuntary manslaughter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was a lawyer, but she doubted she could get herself or the camp out of that charge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Isabella handed Phineas another marshmallow. Reese would like the record to state that Isabella had told all the other Fireside Girls to wait until she could give Phineas a marshmallow before showing off their own for the chance for a badge. Reese wasn’t surprised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ahh. Just how I like ’em. You just earned your marshmallow patch, my friend.” Phineas signed the clipboard again. Candace groaned in annoyance. “So, Grandpa, what should we do now? Tell scary stories? I got one!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Phineas, you always start. Why not give another kid a chance?” Grandpa Clyde asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. How about you, Candace?” Grandma Betty Jo prompted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Anyone else? Uh, Baljeet?” Grandpa Clyde asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“W-what? Uh, uh, oh. Thank you.” The nerd accepted the flashlight, shivering. Reese tilted her head. She didn’t get why he was so scared. She was sharing a log seat with him and Buford, and Reese was sitting between them. Baljeet didn’t need to be so scared right now. Reese could drop kick Buford before the bully even tried anything. “Well, this is a story about a kid who comes to this country, and goes to camp. He, like, has to share a tent with </span>
  <em>
    <span>a bully</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It’s really </span>
  <em>
    <span>quite </span>
  </em>
  <span>terrifying, actually. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Quite </span>
  </em>
  <span>terrifying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese could only hear the crackling fire, and the few crickets in the woods behind them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Baljeet turned off the flashlight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese took it from his hand. “I’ve got one.” Reese said, to fill in the awkward air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank goodness. Take it away, Reese.” Grandpa Clyde asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese smiled widely, flipping the flashlight on. It was on the right edge of being disturbing. “It started with a 911 operator, and the call never made him want to pick up the phone again.” Reese began weaving a tale that would spark fear in all of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...and then he saw it, a stuffed pink rabbit followed by the sound of Amber’s haunting laughter.” Reese sat back against the log again, her story fading into the night like the smoke from the fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone was giving her a wide eyed look of panic and fear. Her story may not have had effects like Phineas’ story would, but it would last longer. It would serve the purpose of accomplishing Reese’s goal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She told the scariest campfire story. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grandpa Clyde took the flashlight back. Reese smiled on as it was passed over to Phineas. “Take it away, Phineas.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All right, Grandpa. I’ve got a good one. It’s about Bigfoot!” Phineas announced.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese sat back, noting that Buford had gone as far away from Reese as possible without falling off the log.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The reactions to Phineas’ story were much less than for Reese’s. Reese considered that was because she had scared all the emotions out of them, and also gave them a crippling fear of making any noise ever again. Or, maybe they were waiting to see what Phineas would do next.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He never just </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘told a story’</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So far...it was quiet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And when the moon is full, like it is tonight, Bigfoot will return, and exact his revenge.” Phineas explained. There was silence in the camp, enough for them to hear something moving in the bushes. “Huh? What was that noise?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Behind them, everyone could see it. Shadows in the bushes that looked too much like the feared Bigfoot. The kids all screamed, jumping back from the multiple Bigfoots-Bigfeet?- in the woods.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Buford had actually jumped into Reese’s arms. Reese rolled her eyes, but didn’t want to drop the bully. He could fall into the fire. Again: manslaughter charges, generally best avoided.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I really should have packed more underpants-” Baljeet shrieked, quivering behind the unphased Reese.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas was the only one laughing. “You guys crack me up!” He laughed. He stood up from his seat, walking towards the bush.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Isabella poked her head out from behind the log. “Phineas, what are you talking about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s no Bigfoot!” Phines turned on the flashlight, shining it up into the trees. It revealed his brother, working on multiple levers and pulleys. “It’s just Ferb in the tree! Look! See?” Phineas moved the light to show off the </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Bigfoots/Bigfeet/Bigfoot’</span>
  </em>
  <span>- they were nothing more than cloth rags with stitched on red eyes and arms. “They’re just dummies! Nice rope skills, my friend!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferb held up a thumb.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then... who is this?” Isabella turned to Ferb, who hadn’t moved from the log in all of this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese walked over. She could make out the fob on ‘Ferb’s’ nose. She popped it out, the boy delfating. “Balloon Ferb...impressive.” She praised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we thought so too.” Phineas joked. “Sounds like Ferb too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was awesome!” Buford praised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese let him fall to the dirt. He didn’t even complain- smart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the revelation that it was a prank, the campers gathered back around the fire. Grandpa Clyde’s loud laugh helped with that. “Whoa! That was a good one, boys. You sure got us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t take it anymore!” Candace shouted, pushing herself to her feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was just a joke, Candace.” Phineas replied, a confused look on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> a joke, Phineas!” Candace snapped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Candace, Honey, calm down!” Grandpa Clyde asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Calm down? Calm down?! I don’t wanna calm down!” Candace ranted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But your screaming might attract a </span>
  <em>
    <span>real </span>
  </em>
  <span>Bigfoot.” Phineas advised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A </span>
  <em>
    <span>real </span>
  </em>
  <span>Bigfoot. Oh, give it a rest, Phineas!” Candace ranted. With each word out of her mouth, came the steps of a beast much more realisitic than cloth dummies. “Everyone knows that there’s no such thing as a real-” Candace must’ve seen the horrified looks on all the kids, and felt the heavy breathing behind her. “Oh, fine. What’s this one made of? Popsicle sticks and glitter?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, no.” Phineas shook his head, considerably paler than before.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Discovering something, that doesn’t exit</span>
  </em>
  <span> Reese hummed to herself as Bigfoot roared. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bigfoot grabbed Candace, throwing her into his mouth. Candace shrieked as she was eaten. The kids all screamed, rushing in a mad panic back towards the house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese stayed in her spot, eating her marshmallow. She smiled up at the still shrieking Candace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grandpa Clyde laughed when the rest of the kids were far enough away. “Looks like we fooled ’em, ma!” He glanced to his side. “Well, all except for Reese over here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese smiled wide, bits of melting marshmellow sticking out. She tossed a marshmallow to Clyde, who happily caught it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Bigfoot suddenly opened it’s stomach, the sound of a zipper matching with the sounds of the crickets. Grandma Betty Jo stuck her head out, Candace right beside her. “Did you see the look on their face?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was so cool!” Candace laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, good one!” Grandma Betty Jo praised. The two of them climbed out from the Bigfoot costume. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you really had them!” Reese added, happily roasting another marshmallow over the fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Betty Jo lookalike by Clyde’s side was beginning to deflate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you got an inflatable Grandma, too.” Candace noted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Great-Aunt Lorraine sat back up, laughing at another trick pulled off. “Oh, I’m not inflatable. I’m your Grandma’s identical twin. I only come out once a year if these two want to prank someone.” She rose up from the bench, making her way towards the house. “Well, back to my closet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grandma Betty Jo “See you next year, Lorraine.” Grandma Betty Jo glanced down to Reese. “What gave us away, huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Candace usually decides to call their mom when Phineas and Ferb do something.” Reese admitted. “When she didn’t, I figured something was up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t do it every time-” Reese gave her a look. Candace wilted slightly. “Well she needs to know-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, come on.” Grandma Betty Jo threw her arms around each girl’s shoulder, beginning to guide them back to the house. Grandpa Clyde stood up, walking with the three of them. “Let’s round up those scared kids and have some hot cocoa.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>==W&amp;R==</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Two marshmallows were bobbing in her mug of cocoa. Both of them barely big enough to fit in the tiny child sized mug. Did that matter? Not in Reese’s opinion, because clearly cartoon logic was involved. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Come on, an inflatable boy that looked so real nobody noticed? Maybe an effect of the fire and willful disbelief, but when the lie was called out still no one noticed? Cartoon logic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A Bigfoot that was just another suit and Candace being ‘eaten’ by it? Cartoon logic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Candace thinking another human being was another inflatable copy. Granpda Clyde and Grandma Betty Jo clearly had higher standards for their pranks than to copy someone else like that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But all of that could finally be ignored, because Reese had hot cocoa. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or it should have been, if Candace didn’t feel like gloating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I sure got you guys! You should have seen your faces! Only unsophisticated, immature brains would believe in monsters.” Candace laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t get Reese.” Phineas pointed out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Meh, she’s weird.” Candace dismissed. Reese wanted to be offended- really, probably should have been. Only there was hot cocoa in her hand. She figured that being offended with a hot drink in throwing range wouldn’t work out for Candace. Assault was also not a good charge to have. “Yes, it takes a mature, such as myself, to know that there’s... no such... thing... as...” Candace stuttered, quivering and shaking at something only she had noticed. “BIGFOOT!” With a loud scream, she ran back inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All the kids looked over to where Candace at been facing. There was nothing on the darkened hillside. No sign of Doofenshmirtz or the abandoned Bigfoot dummies to be seen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I do not believe her one bit. Too much overacting.” Baljett commented.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone made noises of agreement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas turned to his platypus, that had reappeared once everyone had their drinks. “Hey, Perry. Why are you all covered in </span>
  <em>
    <span>lipstick</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it was your great aunt.” Reese excused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Phineas shrugged, accepting the explanation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reese figured she would give Perry an easy out. Besides, she was sure the lipstick could be easily washed out. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Forgot to add a note- whoops!</p><p>Hey everybody! This is the start of Summer Of Cartoon! I'm gonna be publishing a lot of cartoon stuff over the weeks. Hopefully they work!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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